Learning to Dance in the Rain
by iluvh0rs3s
Summary: This story deviates a little from the current storyline. Will and Sonny's marriage has been going through some hard times, and the stress has caused one of them to make a bad decision. But soon, an accident with horrible consequences forces the two to either deal with their issues and move forward, or separate for good. Can they get past all pain that has been caused?
1. Chapter 1

Learning to Dance in the Rain

Will Horton sat on a rock looking out at the lake, trying to stem the tears running down his face. His chest felt like a boulder was resting on it, cutting off his air supply. He couldn't remember a time before this when he felt so low; but then he as remembered when he and Sonny broke up after the truth about Will being Ari's father came out. It took time, but they were able to mend their relationship and find their way back together then. He didn't know if the same could be said for now.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the feeling of his phone buzzing in his pocket, but he couldn't muster the effort to answer his phone or see who it was. He couldn't talk to anyone, didn't have the energy to mask the pain in his voice, and he wasn't ready to say anything. After what had happened, he didn't think he ever wanted to see another person again. However, he quickly remembered there were two people that were the exception. Normally, there were three, but at the moment, there were two. His beautiful daughter, Arianna Grace, was the light of his life. He would do just about anything for her, anything to protect and shield her from all the pain and suffering that the world could bring. He never wanted her to know the pain he felt. Logically, he knew he couldn't realistically protect her from every danger there was out there, but he knew he would do his best. Nothing else mattered, and he knew already of the sacrifices that had been made to protect Ari already.

Gabi, Ari's mom, had already made such a huge sacrifice. She was the one other person that was the exception to his not wanting to see anyone. She was still his best friend, especially now that she had made sure that Nick was not a threat to Ari for the rest of her life. He needed to make up for the past few months that he has not completely been there for Gabi. He felt guilty that he has neglected her and her right to see her daughter. He knew he needed to make it up to her, because he did not know how to repay Gabi for her sacrifice.

His phone beeped again, and he finally decided to check it. When the screen lit up, he saw 10 missed calls, 27 text messages, and 5 new voicemails. He was surprised at the amount, but when he looked at the clock he realized he had been out for over 4 hours, probably sitting at the lake for over 2. He had taken Ari to the baby-sitter this morning when he woke up, not wanting her to be around anything that was going on. She didn't need to be around the negativity in this issue.

Will noticed that most of the missed calls and all the missed texts were from Sonny. After their fight last night, Will needed a little space from Sonny, even though he knew eventually he needed to talk to Sonny. The longer he stayed away, the harder it would be to resolve and get past this. The problem was that every time he thought about talking to Sonny, he thought about the night before and everything that happened. His chest tightened as he remembered what happened the night before.

Sonny had been struggling with his South Side location, and more financial problems kept popping up. No matter what Sonny did or tried, he couldn't seem to get on top of it. Will tried to help, but the two were still having problems communicating and it seemed that all they kept doing was getting into fights about money. Then his parents were having problems, and as turned out, Adrienne had been spending a lot of time with Will's father, Lucas. He had become a confidant for her in her troubles with her marriage, and it looked like Justin and Adrienne were headed for a divorce. Sonny overhead his parents fighting, not long after he saw Lucas and Adrienne talking rather intimately.

In the same day as he heard his parents fighting, he saw Will talking to Chad in the park. Will wanted to try and repair the relationship between Sonny and Chad, since they used to be best friends and Will knew that Sonny missed that. However, Sonny viewed seeing Will talking to Chad as a betrayal, since Chad and Sonny had not been talking. Will tried to explain the situation, but Sonny stormed off. He decided to go to a bar to blow off some steam and decompress.

It was at this same bar that Paul Narita happened to walk into as well, looking for some company. Paul saw Sonny, realized he was upset, and offered to buy Sonny a drink and talk. Sonny at first declined, but then realized that he did need to talk to someone and vent. Soon, one drink turned into two, then five, and by then Sonny as feeling really good. He started to remember why he once loved Paul. Then, Paul coaxed Sonny to come back to his hotel room to continue talking. Once they got there, Paul admitted that he had been missing Sonny and dreaming about being with Sonny again. For the first time in months, Sonny felt that someone was being there for him. The alcohol had lowered his inhabitations, and the next thing he knew they were in bed, kissing and removing their clothes.

It all felt so good to Sonny, and afterwards he decided that he wanted to be with Paul. So he told him that he was going to tell his husband that he wanted a divorce. Paul tried to get Sonny to stay, but Sonny was feeling high and wanted to unload on his husband. Paul insisted that he take a cab home, and Sonny agreed. Will had tried to call his the rest of the afternoon, but Sonny had ignored all his calls. On the ride back, Sonny started to feel guilty about cheating on Will, but he rationalized to himself that Will had not been there for him for a long time, and he was always there for Will. It was finally time that someone was there for him.

When Sonny got home, he was stumbling around, and Will immediately smelled alcohol on his breath. Will tried to talk to him, but Sonny was angry, so he began to unload on Will. When Will asked about where Sonny had been, Sonny raged at Will and revealed that he had slept with someone, his ex-boyfriend who was in town. He revealed how great it felt, and how he finally knew that he made a mistake when he married Will. He spewed vicious words at Will, and he could still remember each blow of pain he felt the next day.

Will was brought back from memory lane by the buzzing of his phone again. He looked down at his phone and saw it was a text message from Sonny. _"Please call me back. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean anything I said. I love you."_ Tears popped up again in Will's eyes. The message sounded so loving, so Sonny, but it conflicted with the image that Will couldn't seem to erase of Sonny, drunk and angry, spewing hateful words towards Will of how much better his life would have been had he not met Will. That while he wished Paul could have come out, maybe Sonny was being selfish and should have stayed with him regardless. Sonny continued by saying that while Paul may lie to the outside world, he never lied to Sonny.

Those words nearly killed Will. He knew that his lies had hurt Sonny in the past, but he had tried to make up for it. But now he realized no matter what he did, he couldn't fully make up for it. Will kept trying to get Sonny to stop talking, knowing that he was drunk and hopefully did not mean what he was saying. But when Sonny said that sleeping with Paul felt so good, Will stopped trying. He let Sonny continue rambling on until he decided to go to bed. Will checked in on Ari, who had thankfully slept through it all, and then laid out on the couch, but never went to sleep. In the morning, he got Ari up and dressed, fed her, checked to make sure that Sonny was still asleep, and then left.

Will tried to think about _his _Sonny. _His _Sonny as the Sonny who was so loving and kind, who was willing to shoot Nick so that they could protect Ari. The one he married, who made him feel so loved and protected. He tried to keep that image in his mind, but it kept getting blurred by the images and words from the night before. He just wanted to crawl into a ball and die. He was exhausted, having barely slept the night before and wanting to get out of the apartment as soon as possible.

He knew that Sonny was drunk and reacting to all the pressure her was under. Will has been in that position, and could understand being angry and acting out. He could forgive everything that was said and what had happened. Even Sonny cheating on him with his ex-boyfriend. In the midst of everything, he had figured out that Paul was the same Paul he had been interviewing and was encouraging to come out. He felt so stupid now, realizing he was encouraging Paul to come out so he could get Sonny back. It also brought up the one issue that Will did not know if he could get past. The fact that there was a part of Sonny that still loved Paul and still wanted to be with Paul. Will couldn't be a second choice. He has not acted like it, but Sonny and Ari were first in his life. He needed to know it went both ways with Sonny.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note- The characters of Will and Sonny in my story are slightly different from how they are on the show. I hate how they have currently written Will's character, and this is the way I think they should be a little bit. Please review and thank you so much to those of you who have already

Chapter 2

Sonny Kiriakis sat on his couch, with his head held in his hands. His head felt like someone was stabbing him with a nail in his skull; a pounding from a combination of his hangover and the awful memories of what happened the night before. He still couldn't believe how far out of control everything got, how out of control _he_ got, especially how he acted towards Will. He felt sick when he thought about it, the things he said to Will, and how he cheated on Will. He felt like throwing up when he remembered the look on Will's face when he told him all about it. The memory of the look of utter devastation on Will's face would be implanted in Sonny's mind for the rest of his life.

He had tried calling Will countless times over the past few hours, ever since he woke up and found Will and Ari gone. He left message after message, begging Will to talk to him, to _forgive_ him. He thought about going out to look for Will, but he had no idea where Will was. He thought that Will would go to his father's or Marlena's, but he couldn't get up the courage to leave the apartment and go looking. The only message he got from Will as the note he found this morning on the kitchen table stating that Ari was at the baby-sitters for the day, and that Will would get his stuff out of the apartment later. The note scared him for two reasons; the first because he couldn't believe that Will felt he had to get Ari away from him and their home, and the second because Will said he would get his stuff. He couldn't blame Will after the way he acted, but he did not want to believe he was going to lose his husband over this horrible incident.

When he woke up this morning, his head was pounding and his mouth felt like it was full of sand. He stumbled out of bed and realized that Will was nowhere in sight. He called out, but there was no answer. He didn't hear Ari anywhere, and when he looked around the apartment, he found it empty. He saw the note on the table, and at first he couldn't understand why Will had left it. But then, the day before started coming back to him. The fight with Will, hearing his parents, drinking with Paul, sleeping with Paul, and then coming back and the horrible things he said to Will. As the memories came back, he got nauseous and threw up.

Tears ran down his face as he again remembered the events from the day before. Everything just started piling up on Sonny, and while he usually could handle stress really well, this time it just got to be too much. Before, he turned to the people he cared about and loved. This time, his parents were having their own problems, and he and Will never seemed to be on the same page. There just didn't seem to be anyone he could turn to who would just listen. When he saw Paul at the bar, it just felt like for the first time in a while, someone was there to just listen to him.

Looking back, however, Sonny knew that Paul took advantage of the situation and played it, _him_, so that they would end up together. Paul had been trying to get back together with Sonny for some time now, and Sonny gave him the opening Paul wanted. He wasn't blaming Paul completely; Sonny wasn't forced to cheat on Will or say any of the things he said to Will or Paul. He even told Paul after they slept together that he wanted to be with Paul. But Sonny knew he didn't want a relationship with Paul. He wanted Will, what they have, and their life together. He couldn't lose that. They had fought so hard to be together, and while things have been tense between them, he really believed they could work it out. He prayed that his husband would give him a chance to work it out and forgive him for everything that happened the day before.

Sonny sent out one last text message to Will, begging for a chance to talk. He decided to wait 15 minutes, and if he didn't hear back from Will, then he would go out and look for him. This could not go on for much longer. He needed to know if Will was okay, what he was thinking, and what he was going to do. Sonny was going to fight for Will, for their marriage, and Will needed to know that.

His phone began to ring soon after he sent the text, but it was not the person he was waiting to talk to. Paul was calling him. He ignored the call, not ready to talk to Paul and not wanting to miss an opportunity if Will called him. He didn't know what he was going to say to either Will or Paul, but he was going to make it very clear to both that Will was the one he wanted to make things work with, not Paul. Despite everything he said in his drunken rage, Will was the man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He just needed to make Will and Paul understand that.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note: I had a little trouble with this chapter, so I hope you like it. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far and followed._

Fifteen minutes had past, and Sonny finally decided that if he was going to talk to Will, he needed to find him first. He grabbed his coat and headed out the door. He wasn't sure where he would start looking at first, but then decided that Will probably was not anywhere public. At least, he hoped he was right. He was ashamed enough without everyone else knowing what had happened last night. He needed and wanted a chance to talk things out with Will before others got involved and tried to influence the two of them. He needed to believe that if they sat down and talked, they could find a way past all this. Or maybe that was all wishful thinking.

That moment, Sonny stopped in his tracks and wanted to cry. What if Will didn't want to work past this? What if everything that happened had pushed him too far and he wanted to walk away? _'No',_ Sonny thought to himself. _'I will not give up just yet. We have come this far.'_

As if fate was giving him a sign, his phone beeped again. This time, it was Will. _"Please stop calling. If you want me to get the rest of my stuff, give me an hour."_ The pain radiating through the text stung Sonny, but this was an opening, and Sonny was not letting it go. _"Please, baby, just give me a chance to explain. I don't want you to leave. I love you, we can work this out."_ Sonny kept walking, thinking that maybe he could find Will. Another text came through. _"You don't need to explain. I get it."_ Sonny started to get scared, not sure where this was leading. He wasn't sure what was going on in Will's mind, but he was afraid to think about it. The message didn't sound angry, it sounded so resigned, like he had already given up. Sonny needed to find Will, needed to fix this so that they could start getting back to where they were before. The place they were in when they got married. They needed to get back there, they had to. He didn't know what he would do if they didn't, _couldn't_. He sent one last message, and prayed it would work. _"Please. Let's just talk. Just you and me. You know I love you. I said some horrible things and did something awful, but I love you and I don't want to lose you."_

He waited a moment, praying that Will would give him another opening. He wondered if maybe pushing right now, instead of giving him space, was the right thing to do, but he needed to talk to Will. He had to try and fix the image that Will still had of last night. He thought of the last time that he sent a message like that, after Will found out about Gabi hitting Nick on the head with a rock and Sami, Kate and Gabi throwing Nick into the river. Will didn't want to talk to him at first then, but he was overwhelmed and freaked out about finding out what happened, not hurt from being cheated on.

Another text came in. _"I don't want to fight anymore. I just want to be alone. I just can't do this right now. I'm sorry."_ Sonny's heart plummeted to the bottom of his stomach. Will didn't want to see him or talk to him. Maybe this wasn't the right time. The fight was still too fresh and they both needed a chance to recover. It killed Sonny, but he deserved it. He would give Will his space, but still let him know that Sonny wasn't going anywhere.

Meanwhile…

Will sat on the rock at the lake, no longer crying but his body too weary to move. A part of him wanted Sonny to continue fighting, to show him that Will was the one he wanted to be with. He wanted Sonny to come find him and make everything okay again. But he couldn't make himself let Sonny in. The pain was too fresh, and even though he knew he would let it all go in time, he just couldn't at the moment. His heart felt like it was being ripped out of his chest, pushing Sonny away, but he needed to. He meant what he said that he did not want to fight anymore, but he also couldn't get the words from last night out of his head. He wanted to be able to let it all go, to forget last night happened. He wanted to just blame it on Sonny being drunk and lashing out. _'Except'_ he thought _'as the saying goes, a drunk mind speaks a sober heart. If Sonny said that when he was drunk and angry, he had to have been thinking about it.'_

Will stopped himself from thinking any further. He needed to get up and start facing reality. He had a daughter he needed to take care of, and he needed to star figuring out where to go from here. He still didn't want to see or talk to anyone, but he couldn't crawl into a ball and hide away. He needed to figure out a game plan of what he was going to do.

He already knew that he wouldn't keep Ari from Sonny. Despite what had happened, Sonny loved Ari with every fiber of his being. Will knew that, and as long as Sonny wanted to be in her life, he would be. Ari was not going to lose out because her daddies had a fight. She didn't do anything wrong and didn't deserve to be punished like that. Maybe that was enough for now.

He was pulled out of his thoughts again by his phone buzzing. Sonny was calling again. Despite his instincts telling him to ignore it, he decided to answer this time. Why, he wasn't sure.

"Hi." Suddenly, Will didn't know what to say. His throat closed up.

"Will, thank god. I know you said you didn't want to talk, but please just listen to me."

"Sonny, I…"

"I deserve you hating me after last night. I hate myself. But no matter what, you need to know that I love you and it was a horrible, horrible mistake that I promise will never happen again. I wish I could take it all back, but I can't."

There was a pause, as if neither of them seem to know what to say to each other, and that feels weird to both Will and Sonny. Will decides to try and break through the awkwardness

"I can pick up Ari and take care of her, but if you wanted…"

"Ari…Don't do this. Please don't act like we are breaking up. Will, I need to see you. I need to talk to you. This was a bad fight, but we can get past this, I know we can."

Will felt that lump in his throat again and the urge to cry. He felt so heartbroken, but at the same time, needing to feel Sonny's arms around him again.

"I know after everything I said and did last night, you have every right to not want to see me again. But I love you and while it isn't an excuse, last night was a horrible mistake after everything piling up on me. I saw you with Chad, and I saw my parents fighting, and I just couldn't deal with anything anymore. I am so sorry, and you need to know that I didn't mean anything I said."

Will stayed silent, listening to Sonny. Even if he couldn't fully believe the words he was hearing, he needed to hear the love Sonny had for him.

Sonny continued. "I know that nothing can change what I did, but I can make things better. Please, just give us a chance."

Will finally found his voice. "I know that you were drunk and angry last night. While it hurts, I do think I will get over that in time. I know I haven't been there for you like I should have, like you are for me." His voice began to crack, and even though he tried to stay calm, it wasn't working. "I wish I could say that I can let go of the rest though. I don't know how to get past that."

Sonny felt the tears start up again. He had gone back to the apartment after the text exchange, and was pacing around as he listened to Will on the phone. He could hear the pain in his husband's voice, and it was so much worse that the texts and note. It was at that exact moment that he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

"Baby, you have no idea how much I hate that I hurt you. It was a mistake, a horrible one. Please, just come home."

"What home?! The home we share where you told me last night how another man held you and made you feel so good, and that the biggest mistake of your life was meeting me and being with me? I've been in that home, I don't need to go back."

Sonny trembled as he listened to his husband cry out in pain. _'All because of me.'_

"How am I supposed to walk back in and act like nothing happened? Please, tell me Sonny. How are we supposed to get past this? Because I have been sitting here going over it in my head and I have no idea what to do. I have no idea how I am supposed to look at our friends and family, and Ari, and act like things are going to be okay. Tell me how to do that. Tell me know to forget that my husband, the man who I love with all my heart, the one who was willing to kill someone to protect our daughter, said to me that he is still in love with someone else and that I was a consolation prize because his ex-boyfriend wasn't willing to come out in public. Tell me."

"Will, please, just tell me where you are. I understand you don't want to come home, and you can hate me all you want, but please, I need to see you and know you are okay. I know you hate me, but…"

"No, Sonny. I wish I could hate you. Trust me, this would be so much easier if I could, if I knew how to do that."

Both Sonny and Will stayed silent for the moment.

"Sonny, I meant when I said I don't want to fight anymore. I don't have it in me. I think it would be best if I stayed somewhere else for right now, but I won't keep Ari from you. We can work out a schedule."

"Will, please don't…"

"The only thing I ask is that you not bring her around him. Please respect that."

"Will…"

"Please, if you ever loved me, you will respect my wishes. I won't keep her from you, you are still her father. I'm happy to have your father write up any agreement we need if you want."

Sonny began to cry, not quite sure how it came to this point.

Will finally said what he was thinking about, needing an answer to the burning question in his head.

"Why did you marry me? Why did you make me believe in happily ever after? Why did you let me believe that you truly loved me, if I was really your second choice?"

"You are not my second choice. I don't love him, I only love you."

"YOU DON'T SLEEP WITH SOMEONE ELSE WHEN YOU LOVE SOMEONE! YOU DON'T TELL THE PERSON YOU LOVE THAT YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER MET!"

Sonny jumped at the venom in Will's voice, he could hear the anger through the phone. He knew that he had hurt his husband, but there seemed to be much more going on. Maybe they really couldn't come back from this.

"I'm staying somewhere else tonight. I think it would be best. I will get the rest of my things later and you can let me know when you are free to see Ari. If you want, and if you are not working, I will call and tell the sitter you will pick her up. Otherwise, let me know."

Will then hung up, not wanting to talk any further. He took a deep breath, looked around to see if anyone was around, and then walked towards Horton Town Square, plastering a mask on his face. No one would know that his heart was completely shattered and he would probably never be whole again.

_Please review!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note- Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far. I am blown away by the response. I hope you continue to like to story. Please keep reviewing!_

Sonny walked into Club TBD, bone-weary and not in the mood for work. Unfortunately, he needed to be there, to keep one part of his life running, as the rest fell apart. Even if it was barely. He walked past T and Ben, who yelled out a welcome to him that he barely heard. He quickly walked through the club to the back and went into his office, shutting the door. Looking around and seeing the mounds of paperwork he still needed to go through, he sat down on his chair and put his head in his hands. He kept wondering how everything got this bad. How did his life go from feeling on top of the world six months ago after getting married, to barely speaking to his husband, his business being run into the ground, and now he probably completely destroyed his marriage in a single night.

Sonny's phone buzzed again, and Sonny barely glanced at it. It was Paul again. He had called three times in the past few hours, and Sonny had ignored him every single time. After his phone call with Will, he barely had any energy to talk to anyone. But he was afraid that it would be another betrayal to Will if he talked to Paul again. He knew eventually he would have to talk to Paul and clear up that what happened between them was a mistake and could never happen again.

He looked up from his hands and at his desk. His eyes became drawn to the two pictures on his desk. One of him and Will right after they got engaged, and the other is of him, Will and Arianna Grace after her first birthday. He sadly smiled at the pictures, trying to remember how happy and how loved they all felt in those pictures. How could so much change in 6 months?

He felt so alone, and didn't know where to turn. He needed to talk to someone, but he didn't know who to turn to that he could confide in. Unfortunately, turning to someone was partially what got him into this mess. He used to be able to confide in Will. He missed those times when they would sit in their bedroom and talk about all the things going on, any problems that they had, or just enjoy being together. He loved to just touch Will, wrapping his arms around him, or having Will touch him, like when he used to run his hands through his hair or run up and down his arms.

Suddenly, the emotions that he had been trying to keep bottled up came rushing out again. He shoved every piece of paper off his desk and threw the photos against the wall. His anger raged and he slammed his fist against the wall, putting a small hole in the wall. As he looked around at the mess, he saw that picture frames had been cracked, and he began to sob. Everything was falling apart around him, and there was no lifeline for him to catch to pull him back to the surface. He felt completely alone, and for the first time, he knew it was completely his fault.

Meanwhile…

Will walked in fog through Horton Town Square. Considering how small Salem felt at times, and as it was only the early evening, it was amazing that no one stopped him or tried to talk to him. At least, no one he heard or paid attention to. Lately, it felt like half his family avoided him after the debacle with the article about his mom and Abigail. No matter what he said or how many times he apologized, he was still seen as the horrible person who ousted his cousin as having an affair with EJ Dimiera.

He kept walking, and suddenly found himself in front of his and Sonny's apartment. He stopped at the door, staring at it, unsure of what to do. He knew he needed to get some clothes and stuff, but could he really walk back into the apartment after what happened? He knew Sonny was working, as he texted him after their phone call to say he needed to be at the club, so he couldn't get Ari. But he was still unsure of being in the apartment. Could he deal with the memories long enough to get his stuff and get out?

He still also needed to figure out where he was going to go. He thought about going to his grandma Marlena's, but she had just recently got back together with John, so he didn't want to barge in on them. Besides, it felt like another disappointment to add to the already growing list to tell her that his marriage was probably over. He was truly becoming Sami Brady's son.

He thought about his mom. He missed her. As crazy as she drove him most of the time, she really did love him. She always tried her best to help him out and make sure he had a great life. It just never seem to work out. He was glad that Johnny, Allie and Sydney were able to have that. Even without EJ, Sami seem to be able to find happiness and make sure the kids were taken care of and safe. As much as he hated to admit it, a part of him wanted to call his mom, to tell her what happened. But he also knew he couldn't. She had a tendency to make problems worse, and honestly he didn't want a lot of people to know just yet what had happened between him and Sonny.

He looked at the door of the apartment again, and decided he needed to get on with it. He unlocked the door and stepped inside. As he looked around, he thought that while the apartment did not look different, it somehow was different, or the better thing to say was that it felt different. Maybe it felt less like home, less safe for him. _'Stop'_ he thought to himself. _'You need to stop this. Everything that happened last night happened. But you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and figure out how to move on. Life goes on.'_

He went into the bedroom and grabbed some clothes for himself. He wasn't sure where he was going to go or how long he was going to stay away, but he needed enough to get through the next day or two. But when he walked by the bed, his eye caught the photo of the two of them at their wedding. He stopped and gasped for air as he saw how happy they looked. The next photo to catch his eye was on the table next to the bed, which was the picture taken from the last Christmas that Gabi was with them. Before he knew about the secret Gabi, his mom and grandma Kate were keeping from him. While it was a little weird, they all seemed and felt so happy. They felt like a family.

He suddenly missed Gabi more than anything. While they had their tense moments for the years, she was still his best friend and usually could help him figure out tough situations. He missed laughing with her and experiencing all the joys that Ari brought to both of their lives. He realized he needed to see Gabi. He didn't need to tell her what happened, but just to see her and have Ari see her mom would be enough for him. He didn't need to burden her with his problems; she had enough to deal with.

He forced himself to leave the bedroom and grabbed a few things for Ari. He checked his phone and saw it was time to pick Ari up. As he left the apartment, he decided to call his dad to see if he could stay with him for a few days. While he didn't tell him what happened, Lucas could tell by the tone of his son's voice that it was bad and agreed to let him and Ari stay with him for as long as they needed.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Will woke up to the aroma of coffee wafting through the air. He was a little disoriented at first, not recognizing where he was. As he looked around, he remembered that he stayed at his dad's with Ari. As soon as he remembered where he was, he remembered why he was there with Ari, and the sadness came back to him. He heard his dad talking with Ari, so he decided to get up and go see what they were up to.

When he walked out to the living room, he saw Ari crawling around on her play mat he brought with him, while his dad held out her toys to her. He smiled watching them together. His dad was amazing, and he knew how lucky he was to have him. He was grateful that his dad did not ask any questions about why he needed to stay over. When he came over, Lucas took Ari and played with her and got her ready for bed. It was almost as if he knew his son had lost all his energy, and so he just took over.

But now since morning was here, Will knew he should probably talk to his dad and explain a little bit about what happened and why he couldn't stay at the apartment. But he truly didn't know where to start. How could he admit that he and Sonny had made the same mistakes as so many others in their families and that now they were so lost from their marriage, he didn't know how they could find their way back together.

"Morning, dad."

Lucas looked over at his son. "Good morning. Coffee is ready if you want some. Help yourself."

"Thanks." He then looked over at Ari. "Good morning sweetheart. Having fun with grandpa?"

"Yes, we are having a good grandpa/granddaughter morning. Aren't we sweetie?" Will smiled as Ari laughed at Lucas.

Will walked over to the kitchen and got a cup of coffee. He then walked back over to sit on the couch, watching Lucas and Ari. He could feel the elephant in the room, knowing his dad wanted to ask about what was going on, and at the same time giving him space and helping him with his daughter.

"Thank you for letting us stay here last night. I really appreciate it."

"Of course, son. You know you are always welcome if you need to stay here."

Both were quiet for a moment, just watching Ari.

Will finally broke the silence. "I don't know how I got here. Things have been tough, but I honestly don't know how I got to this point."

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked turning towards his son.

Will took a deep breath. "Things have become strained between me and Sonny. We have been having problems, but things came to a head the day before yesterday. I just don't know how we got to this point. Six months ago, I knew that, no matter what was going on around us, Sonny and I were strong and could stick through anything. No matter what the battle was, we could get through it. We had each other."

Will paused, and Lucas could see the tears in his son's eyes.

"What happened? I know thought you guys were good since you came back from L.A."

"I thought so too. But Sonny has been having problems opening his second location, and finances became tight. I guess I became more focused on my career, and not being supportive to Sonny. We just stopped being able to communicate, I think. Sonny has been really stressed out, and it basically came to a boiling point, and awful things were said. I just don't know what to do, how to move forward."

Lucas was shocked listening to his son. He had no idea things had become so bad between Will and Sonny.

"Maybe you just need to take a step back. Getting some space might be good. You two can get over this hurdle."

"I'm really not sure we can, dad. I really don't know."

"Why? What could be so bad that you couldn't make it work?"

Will took a deep breath and let out what he was trying to hold it.

"Sonny's ex-boyfriend is in town. They broke up a long time ago because the guy did not want to come out of the closet, but now I am not so sure. And I think that Sonny still has feelings for this guy."

This revelation stunned Lucas even further. It crushed him to see the devastation on his son's face when he stated that he believed his husband had feelings for another man.

"Are you sure? Couldn't this just be like what you feared was happening with that guy, Brent?"

"No, dad. This is a different situation."

"How do you know? Did something happen?"

Will's silence said it all. He didn't want to tell his dad, but he didn't know what to say. He wanted to lie, protect Sonny, but at the same time, he needed someone to listen and hear what happened.

"He got drunk. He says now that it was a mistake and will never happen again, but how do I know that? How do I move forward in my marriage with this question in my head? Is it even possible to move forward?"

Lucas didn't know what to say. He had been in this situation before, when his marriage to Chloe was falling apart, and the same things plagued his mind. They were unable to work past those issues, but in the end, he wasn't meant to be with Chloe. Was the same true for Will and Sonny?

Meanwhile…

Sonny sat at the kitchen table in the apartment, having absolutely no energy to do anything. He had barely slept the night before, and again woke up to an empty and cold apartment. He had no idea where Will and Ari went the night before, but this time he didn't try to call or text. Things seemed so bleak at that moment, and he didn't know what to do. He hoped he would be able to talk to Will today, but after their last conversation, things did not look good.

A knock on the door interrupted Sonny's thoughts. He looked at the clock and saw it was 9 a.m., usually too early for people to just drop by. He was a little nervous that maybe Paul had tracked him down, but disregarded that thought. He wanted to ignore the knock anyway, not wanting to see anyone besides his husband and little girl, but the person was insistent.

"Sonny?! Will?! Are you guys up?" It was his mom, Adrienne.

Sonny dragged himself over to the door and opened it.

"Good morning, sweetie." Adrienne said bright and cheery.

"Morning mom."

"I know it's a little early, but I was awake and since I haven't seen you guys in a while, I thought I would drop by. I brought some bagels if you guys are hungry. Are Will and Ari still asleep?"

"No, they aren't here."

Adrienne looked at her son surprised. She walked into the apartment and looked around, setting the bag of bagels down on the computer table.

"What do you mean, they aren't here? It's early, where would they be?"

Sonny took a deep breath and said, "Mom, now is really not a good time."

Adrienne looked at her son. "Sonny, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Everything is fine."

"No, everything is not fine. Did something happen, did someone get hurt or is Ari sick?"

"No, Ari is fine. Everything is fine, mom."

Adrienne studied her son. She knew something was wrong.

"Sonny, please talk to me. I know something is wrong. Just tell me."

"NOTHING! JUST LEAVE IT ALONE, MOM!"

Adrienne was stunned at her son's outburst.

"Now I know something is wrong. You need to talk to me, and I am not leaving until I know what is going on."

Sonny turned away from her. He was trying to hold everything in, but at that moment he couldn't, didn't have the energy to hold in his dirty little secret any longer. He needed to just let it out.

"I cheated on Will."

Adrienne gasped, not quite sure what she expected, but it was not _that_. But the bigger shocker came with the next thing Sonny said.

"I slept with Paul."

With tears running down his face, Sonny recounted the horrible day, leading up to his drunken confrontation with Will, and how he hasn't seen Will since that night. That Will took Ari and doesn't want to talk to him. He sat on the couch and began to cry about how everything was piling up on him and he just needed a lifeline. That Paul just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and now his marriage could be ruined forever.

"What am I supposed to do, mom? How do I fix this?"

Adrienne sat next to her son on the couch, not knowing what to say. She felt disappointed in her son for cheating on his husband, but also knew a lot had been building up to this point. While Sonny didn't tell her everything he said to Will, she had some idea of what could have happened. Her own marriage at this point was weakening, and she felt guilty that the stress of that was impacting her son as well. She always prided herself and Justin on being able to keep their kids out of their business. Now, it seemed, their problems, and her on-going friendship with Will's father Lucas was causing problems for her son and his husband.

Unsure of what to say, Adrienne wrapped her arms around her son, telling him it would be okay as he cried.

_Please review!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note- Wow, I am blown away by the support and reviews so far. Thank you so much! A special thank you to Love DS for your advice and ideas. I have used one of them in this next part. I hope you all enjoy!_

After Sonny cried himself out and talked with his mom, Adrienne left, but not before telling her son to not give up. If he truly believed that he and Will belonged together, he needed to keep trying. But she also warned him that he needed to also make sure that Paul understood that as well. She felt disappointed in her son that he had cheated on Will with Paul, because she knew how much Paul had hurt Sonny in the past. While she had issues in the past with Will and was concerned about the two getting married so young, she had grown to love Will with her son and truly believed that they belonged together.

After she left, Sonny took out his cell phone and stared at it. He contemplated trying to call Will, but decided that maybe he needed to wait a bit before reaching out to his husband. Besides, there was one other person he needed to call. His mom was right in the fact that he needed to set the record straight with Paul. He knew it was cowardly to do it over the phone instead of seeing Paul in person, but he honestly felt it was the best way to end things. If it got back to Will that he saw Paul again, it may send Will away for good. '_Or you are just afraid that something will happen again if you see Paul. That the attraction will take over again.'_

Sonny stopped at that thought. He shook that out of his mind. He knew it could never happen again. Until he knew that there was no hope for him and Will, he would never give up trying. Even then, he probably would not give up. He was a Kiriakis, and that mans that they never gave up when they wanted something. No matter what the obstacle. He pulled up Paul's number and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Sonny."

"Hi, baby. I've been waiting to hear from you."

Sonny cringed at the nickname. It sounded so wrong coming from Paul.

"I know. I'm sorry I haven't called you back."

"It's okay. I was a little worried, but I figured you had a lot to take care of after our big night. How did it go with your husband? Did you tell him it was over?"

Sonny took a deep breath. "That is what I called to talk to you about. What happened between us was a mistake. A drunken mistake that can never happen again."

Paul was silent for a moment, stunned. "What are you talking about? That was not a mistake."

"Yes it was, Paul. I am married. I love my husband. I want to be with him, not you. That day was a really bad day, but what happened should never have happened and will never happen again."

"You don't mean that. I know you still love me, Sonny. You told me yourself. Your husband doesn't treat you the way you deserve to be treated. He isn't there for you like I would be. What happened to everything you said, about wanting to be with me again, even if I don't go public? You even said that what you felt for your husband could never compare to what you feel for me. Those were your words."

"I know what I said. I was drunk and angry and you just happen to be there. Make no mistake, Paul, I know what you feel for me. You wanted what happen between us to happen."

"You wanted it too. I didn't force you. You know you wanted to be with me."

"I never said you forced me. But you manipulated the situation. I was drunk. You just happened to be the one standing there. No matter what I said, I have a life here, a home with my husband. I am going to probably spend the rest of my life trying to make this up to him, but it is worth it."

"Sonny, you don't mean all this. It doesn't matter that you were drunk. I know you. I know you meant everything you said. Can we please meet? I know you want me, I know you want to be with me. Your husband is never going to give you what I can."

Sonny started to get angry. Did Paul not hear a word he was saying? "No Paul, we cannot meet. I'm sorry that I brought you into this, but it is over. I am staying with my husband."

"Does he know what happened between us? Did you tell him?"

"Yes, I did. And he is hurt and upset right now. But it doesn't matter. All that matters is that you know nothing will happen between you and me again. We are done."

"Sonny, don't say that."

"No, Paul. There is nothing left to say. I love my husband. He is the only man for me. And if I have to, and get the chance to, I will spend the rest of my life proving to him how perfect he is to me. I mean it. I'm sorry that it has to be this way. Goodbye, Paul."

"Sonny, wait…"

Sonny then hung up the phone. He felt bad for bringing Paul into his issues and for making him believe that they had a future together. But he knew the only way he could start to move forward with Will is if he closed the door with Paul, locked it and walked away.

But there was this nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Could it really be that easy to walk away? Would Paul be able to let everything go? Sonny really hoped so, because everything was on the line here. He needed this to be over.

At the same time Sonny was talking with Paul, Will was walking around Horton Town Square with Ari. Lucas needed to get to work, but told Will he could stay as long as he needed to. But Will knew at some point he needed to go back and talk to Sonny. They needed to start moving past this. The question was, could they move forward together?

Will wanted to. He really did. He wanted to say that he could let go of everything and move forward, to let go of all the hurt and forget what happened. The problem was he knew that was not possible. Despite the fact that he knew Sonny was drunk and that Sonny claimed it was a mistake, there was this nagging doubt in the back of his mind. Could they move forward? Could he forget the things that Sonny said to him in a fit of anger? Could he let go of the fact that his husband, the only man he has ever been with and loved with his whole heart, broke their vows and was with another man? This was not just a one-night stand, a faceless person. This was Sonny's ex, one who Sonny possibly still had feelings for. Could he live with the doubt, always wondering if Sonny will cheat again?

He also had to live with the fact that his husband brought out a lot of insecurities in him that Will had thought he had gotten over. When they first got together, Will felt that Sonny could do so much better that him. He was very insecure, and felt that Sonny was better than him. And a lot of people had no problem reminding Will of his past mistakes and how much better off Sonny would be with someone else. However, Sonny never saw it that way. He was always determined and sought to show that they belonged together. Those feelings had started to go away over time. The longer they were together, the more Will felt safe and secure in their relationship. He even got married, something he was so sure he would never do, since he had seen so many failed marriages during his entire life.

But now, he was plagued with doubt. Doubt that they could actually move forward and learn from their mistakes. Will knew now that his own mistakes had contributed to this, from the article about EJ and Abigail's affair, to his failed attempt at screenwriting in L.A. (why he ever listened to his mom and the agents, he still didn't know), to being so consumed with trying to prove that he is capable of being a good writer and providing for his family, that he completed disregarded the other problems going on around him. Both he and Sonny took their relationship for granted. In hindsight, he could see where the problems were.

But as they saw, hindsight is 20/20. Could they learn from their mistakes and keep history from repeating? Can they learn not to take each other for granted and remember to treasure their relationship? In his heart, Will wanted to say yes. But his head was reminding him of all the mistakes they made.

Will stopped walking for a moment and, after looking around, realized unintentionally he had walked him and Ari back to the apartment. He wasn't even paying attention, his body just did it on autopilot. Ari was in her stroller, happily babbling as if she was having a conversation. When the stroller stopped, she stared up at him and smiled. That smile lit up his entire world. As long as she could smile, nothing else mattered. Then she started talking. "Da Da Da" Just those sounds made his heart race, and he knew she needed to see Sonny. It would hurt for him to see Sonny, but he couldn't deny his little girl the chance to see her daddy Sonny.

As Will went to open the door, his nerves took hold for a moment. But then he heard a voice on the other side of the door, and realized Sonny was talking. He heard Sonny speak. _"No, Paul. There is nothing left to say. I love my husband. He is the only man for me. And if I have to, and get the chance to, I will spend the rest of my life proving to him how perfect he is to me. I mean it. I'm sorry that it has to be this way. Goodbye, Paul."_ Will stopped for a moment, realizing that Sonny was talking to Paul. He waited to hear if there was another voice, but when he heard nothing he realized Sonny was on the phone. He was telling him that he wanted to be with Will.

Maybe they could get through this. Those words gave him some hope and the courage he needed to go an open the door. He picked Ari up out of the stroller, got out his keys, and opened the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Sonny's head shot up when he heard the apartment door opening. His heart began to race as he saw Will carry Ari through the door, the stroller behind them. "Hey" he breathed out. Will gave a small smile but said nothing. Ari gurgled happily, reaching her arms out to Sonny. Sonny looked at Will carefully, but Will nodded and held her out to Sonny.

"Hi sweetheart. Did you have a good morning with daddy?" Ari giggled up at Sonny, which melted his heart.

As Sonny held and talked to Ari, Will pulled the stroller all the way into the apartment and pushed it off to the side. He felt so awkward, standing in his and Sonny's apartment, staring at his daughter play with his husband. This felt so normal, so different from the last time the three of them were in this apartment together. Thankfully Ari was not a part of that situation, and if Will could help it, would never be a part of any bad situation.

Sonny glanced over at Will, hating how out of place his husband looked in his own home. He knew Will felt awkward being here, and the air was thick with the tension of that horrible night. But, he was here. He came back home. That had to mean something.

"I'm so glad you both are here right now." The words were said to Ari, but meant for Will.

Ari began babbling again. "Dada, dada."

Sonny smiled. "Yeah, your daddies are here. Both of us." He then looked into Will's eyes. "We are not going anywhere. I'm always going to be here."

Will got then message, but cleared his throat and looked down. Suddenly, he wasn't so sure he could handle the conversation that they needed to have. With Ari here, he couldn't get too emotional or angry. But Sonny was not going to let that deter him. He put Ari down in her play pen and slowly moved towards Will. Will looks hesitate to be near Sonny, but Sonny wasn't going to let this go.

"Hey."

Will still couldn't seem to say anything. He just doesn't know what to say. The sight in front of him of his husband, so loving and caring with their daughter, is clashing with the memories of the horrible night that he still can't let go of just yet.

"I missed you guys last night."

Will only nodded.

"Please say something."

"I don't know what to say."

Sonny stepped closer. "It doesn't matter. I'm so glad you are here."

"Ari missed you. I didn't want to keep her away."

"What about you?"

Again, Will kept quiet. Bu his eyes betrayed him, showing the pain and wanting for Sonny. He tried to put some distance between him and his husband, but Sonny was faster. He grabbed for Will's hand and held it gently.

"I know I have said this so many times, and I will continue saying it if that is what you need. I am so sorry for that night. For everything that happened. It was horrible, and there is no excuse for it. But it was a mistake, one that will never happen again, I promise you."

Will began to tear up. "Don't", he whispered. He didn't know what he was trying to say, but with Sonny so close and talking to him, his defenses were weak. Sonny cupped Will's face, studying him. He then pulled him into a kiss, a kiss filled with desperation, pleas of forgiveness, and love. Will wanted to get lost in it. He missed this. He missed his husband, being with him so intimately, touching him so soothingly, as if he was the most precious thing he had. He gave in for a moment, wanting the kiss to take all the pain he had been feeling away.

But then the spell was broken. Will broke the kiss and backed away, pushing against Sonny's chest with his one hand, the other still held by Sonny.

"Sonny, stop."

"Please, baby."

But Will turned away from Sonny. He looked over at Ari, who was happily playing with her toys.

"Sonny, we have more issues than just what happened."

"What do you mean?"

Will turned back to look at him. "I mean, what happened that day happened because there are obviously issues in our marriage. Big issues. Issues we may not be able to get through."

"Don't say that. You don't know that."

Will looked Sonny in the eye and asked, "Can you honestly tell me that you don't think there are any problems in our marriage? That you have been happy these past few months?"

Sonny stammered, unsure of where this was going. "We-we have been stressed and having problems, but that can be fixed, Will. The club is having problems, and I let my parents' problems get to me. But we can be okay. I believe that any problems we have can be fixed. I love you. I know you love me. That is what matters."

"But it isn't everything, Son." Will replied miserably. "I do love you. I know you love me. But what I don't know is if it is enough. We have hurt each other so much in the past. I'm not sure we can move forward."

"Don't say that, Will. This is us. We are stronger together. Yes, we have hurt each other. But we grow, we learn from our mistakes. We can move on. I know we can." He reached for Will's hand again, and cupped Will's face with his other hand. "Please, just tell me you are willing to give us that chance. Give me that chance."

Before Will could answer, there was a knock on the door. Sonny wanted to ignore it, but Will pulled away and went to answer it. It was Abigail.

"Hey guys", she said as she walked in. "I'm sorry to drop by unexpectedly, but I realized I haven't seen my goddaughter in a while and I wanted to spend some time with her."

She looked over at Ari in her playpen and smiled. But then she looked at Sonny, who was staring at Will. Abigail could suddenly feel the tension in the room and asked what was wrong.

"Nothing", Will replied. Sonny stayed quiet.

"Is now a bad time? Maybe I should take Ari out for a while. You two look like you need to talk."

It sounded like a good idea. They did have a lot to talk about, and maybe it would be better for Ari to not be here in case it turned bad. But for some reason, Will did not want Ari around Abigail. He suddenly saw her in a whole new way and, at that moment, wanted her far away from his daughter. Her affair with EJ and her treatment of him because of the article, all suddenly came together and he wished he hd not opened the door and let her in.

Before Sonny could say yes, Will replied, "Actually, we really wanted to spend some time together as a family. Today just isn't a good day."

Sonny looked at Will surprised, and Abigail bristled at his tone. But she turned towards the door and said, "I understand."

Before she got to the door, however, she turned to Will and said, "You know, it isn't good for Ari if you are causing problems or fighting with Sonny in front of her, Will. You should know better."

Will immediately whipped around to look at her. "What are you talking about?"

Even Sonny looked at her, surprised.

"I just mean that you know what used to happen when you were with your mother and who ever she was fighting with. You know it isn't good for a kid."

Will hardened, wanting and gearing up to lash out back at her. How dare she say that to him? He has done everything he could to make sure Ari does not have the childhood that he had. What gave her the right to criticize him on being a parent? She knows nothing about having a child.

Seeing that things are about to go from bad to worse, Sonny steps in. "Yes, we know, Abigail. But we are not fighting, and this is really not a good time for you. I will talk to you later, and set up a time when you can see Ari." He quickly ushers her out the door before anything else happens.

But as he turns back to Will, he can already see the damage has been done. Will is seething, trying desperately to control himself.

"Hey, listen, Abigail just…"

"I am so sick of people telling me what to do. Acting as if I am incompetent. Ari is my daughter, what the hell gives _Abigail_ the right to tell me how to act in front of her. She is not her mother." He says her name so scathingly as if it disgusts him to speak it.

Then, to his horror, his eyes begin to water again. "I am a good father to her."

Sonny's heart begins to break again. "I know you are. You are a great father to her. She loves you."

Will chokes out, "Then why do people keep acting like I'm not? Like anybody else would be a better father to her."

"Hey, I don't think that. I think you are an amazing dad. Ignore everyone else. The ones that matter are me and Ari."

But the damage has been done. The air suddenly gets thick and Will can't breathe. He decides he need to leave and starts to walk towards the door.

"I can't do this."

Sonny grabs his arm. "Baby, please just forget her. Let's get back to our conversation. Please, don't walk away."

Will pulls back, quietly saying, "I'm sorry" as he reaches for the door. However, fate decided again to intervene. Before Will could open the door, he hears a little voice. "No." He turns around, and realizes Ari is talking again. "Da, no. Dada." She reaches out for him and Sonny picks her up.

"See, Ari doesn't want you to leave either. Stay. Let's have that family time you told Abigail about."

Will looks into Sonny's pleading eyes, and his daughter's eyes, and realizes he needs to do this. He reaches out and hugs his daughter, saying softly, "Okay".

_Author's note- As you can tell, I am not a big fan of Abigail. I just think she is portrayed as a goody-goody who can do no wrong._

_Please review, and thank you again to everyone who has so far!_


	8. Chapter 8

Sonny had never felt more grateful for Ari than right at that moment. She had stopped Will from leaving the apartment, and gave Sonny the chance to continue to try and rebuild their relationship. He was beginning to realize that, while two days ago was still an issue, they obviously still had other issues to work out as well. It started to seem that maybe Will had started to figure out what some of those issues were, and Sonny needed him to open up so they could talk about it. Will had a tendency to shut down when people started talking about things that bothered him, and usually shouldered the blame on himself for whatever was going on. Sonny, however, knew that would not help them. He needed Will to realize that, despite the fact that he cheated and broke their vows, Sonny was not going anywhere.

He could still see that Will had his defenses up. He was trying to keep some distance away from Sonny, and Sonny hated that he did that. He knew it was partially his fault, but he also knew that after what happened with Abigail, Will was feeling defensive and raw. He needed to get him comfortable and talking.

Unfortunately, Sonny needed to stop by the club soon, as payroll was due and he needed to work out the schedules for the next few weeks. Since Chad was no longer interested in helping out, and the second club had failed, he was working overtime to show that he could still be successful in business. He needed to show that he could provide for his family without anyone else's help.

He smiled as Will sat on the floor with Ari, handing her toys to play with.

"We haven't done this in a while."

Will looked up at him, questioningly.

Sonny clarified. "Spending time together, playing with Ari. It's nice."

Will shrugged. "We've both been busy. It's not like we neglect her."

"No, I'm not saying that at all. This is just nice. Nothing else to worry about, just her and us together. Family time. Gabi liked to do this as well."

Will nodded, looking sad. "She is a good mom."

"And you are a good dad."

Will shrugged again.

"You are, Will. Anyone can see that. You love that little girl more than anything else in the world. You would do anything for her. I would too. She is a part of me, just like she is a part of you."

"I know. You are amazing with her. She is so happy when she sees you."

Sonny sat down next to Will and Ari, hoping to continue getting close again, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. "I am happy when I see her too. I'm even happier when I see the both of you. My family."

Will smiled at Sonny, but then looked away sadly. "We haven't really felt like that in a long time. A family."

Sonny agreed. "Yeah, but now we can fix that. We can get back to where we were before."

Will didn't look at Sonny, unable to voice that he wasn't sure it was possible.

But Sonny pushed on. "Please, Will. Give us a chance. I realize there are things wrong, problems that we have, but it isn't impossible. We have been through so much already. We have to try. Maybe we could talk to your grandma about going to counseling. We don't have to go to her, we can see someone new if you want. But I need to know you are willing to try. I can do the work, but I need you there with me."

Will was silent for a moment, thinking about what Sonny is saying. He wanted to work things out, but what if they tried and it didn't work? He knew if that happened, the pain from that alone would kill him. But looking at Ari, and then Sonny, he decided to give it a chance. He had to try, for his daughter and for him. Sonny had given him chances in the past, maybe it was his turn now.

"Okay", he says quietly.

"Okay?"

"Let's go to counseling. I'm willing to try."

Sonny was elated. He felt so happy in that moment, knowing he still had a shot at fixing his marriage. But before Will was willing to commit to anything, he needed a big promise from Sonny.

"But, I need a promise from you. If you are serious about making us work, I need to know that you can make me this promise."

"Anything." It didn't matter to Sonny what Will wanted. He would do anything to make his marriage work.

"Stay away from Paul."

Will looked at Sonny, hoping that he would agree to his request. He needed to know that Paul was not going to still be hovering around. If they were going to fix their marriage, he needed to know Paul was out of the picture for good.

Sonny looked guiltily at Will, knowing that this was a huge issue for his husband. He should've known that Will would make him promise this.

"There is nothing going on between us anymore. I called Paul today and told him what happened before could never happen again. I made it clear that you were the one I wanted to be with."

"That's good. But I'm sorry, it's not enough. I need you to promise me that you won't see him anymore. That he won't be around you, hanging about like Brian used to. If he is still around Salem, you won't talk to him or spend time with him."

Sonny could see this was important to Will. If this is what he needed, then Sonny would give it to him.

"Okay, I promise. I will stay away from him. I won't talk to him or anything. I doubt he will walk around Salem, but if he does, I won't go near him."

"Thank you." Will took a deep breath. He decided then to be honest with Sonny, and tell him about his article. "I guess now is a good time to be honest with you. I need to tell you about my article."

Sonny looked surprised. "Is it finished?"

"Just about. But I think you need to know what the article is about. Or rather, _who_ it is about."

Sonny felt nervous all of a sudden. He got a pit in his stomach, having an idea where this is going.

Will looked at Sonny and knew he figured it out. "Yeah, I have been interviewing Paul Narita. Small world, huh?"

Sonny was horrified. He couldn't believe that Will had been interviewing Paul all this time.

"I'm assuming he never told you about me?"

"No, that he kept to himself. We mostly talked about his baseball career, his arm, and what his possibilities are for the future. He did talk about the love of his life, but stupid me, I thought he was talking about a woman who he lost because of his career. Never in a million years did I think the love of his life that he talked about was my husband."

Sonny hated the sound of Will's voice. "Hey, it isn't stupid to think he was talking about a woman. Paul wanted everyone to think he was straight. He has always kept his true self hidden from the world. That was part of the reason why we broke up. I wanted to be able to walk around in public with my boyfriend, and he wanted to keep me his dirty little secret. But that is beside the point. It doesn't matter if he still believes I am the love of his life. He isn't the love of my life. He doesn't know the real me. He doesn't matter to me. The only two people who matter to me are you and our little girl."

Will nods, still not completely convinced, but glad he got some of that out.

Sonny looked over at the clock and realized he needed to go.

"I need to get to the club right now and take care of some things, but I will be back later."

Will smiles and nods. Sonny gets up and starts to put his coat on. A thought runs through his head, and before he stops himself, he asks, "You are not going to put in the article about me and Paul, are you?"

Will stares at Sonny, stunned. He can't actually believe that his husband asked him that.

"I can't believe you would ask me that. Is that what you really think of me?"

Sonny knows the minute those words leave his mouth, it is a mistake. He wants to take them all back, but the look on Will's face says it all. He probably just ruined all the progress they made in the past hour.

"I just mean that it will cause more problems for you."

"I know it would. Believe me, writing about your affair with your ex was the last thing I wanted to put in my article. I don't want everyone to know what happened, to know how bad things are. As much as I hate the guy, I won't out someone like the way I was outed. So don't worry, I will protect you and your precious ball player. He can keep living in the closet and destroying people's lives."

"Will come on, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it like that. I just don't want you to make another mistake, like what happened with the article about Sami and EJ."

Again, Sonny realizes he has put his foot in his mouth. Will's face is a look of devastation and disgust.

"I mean, I just don't want…"

"Sonny, just go. I really don't care what you mean. I get that I embarrass you, but don't worry. You won't have to keep apologizing for your screw up of a husband."

"Screw up? I don't think you are a screw up."

Will doesn't say anything, just turns away from his husband. Ari looks at her dads, confused why they seem upset again. She tries to get their attention, but nothing works.

Sonny reaches out to Will, but he stand up and walks to the other side of the couch.

"Just go, Sonny. Get to work."

"I can't leave now. Please, just forget I said anything. We were having a good day, don't let what I said ruin it. I'm sorry, and I know you wouldn't out someone like that."

Will refuses to say anything, just looking back at Ari. Sonny sighs, knowing he has to leave but afraid of what will happen.

"Will you be here when I get back? I should only be gone for a couple of hours."

Will shrugs, not willing to commit to staying and letting go of his anger and hurt.

Sonny sighs, and walks out the door. He curses himself for sticking his foot in his mouth, and prays to anyone listening that Will and Ari will be at home when he gets back.


	9. Chapter 9

Sonny angrily huffed into Club TBD, still pissed at himself for how he left things with Will. He couldn't believe that, when things were going so well between him and Will, he had to put his foot in his mouth and say those things. Will's writing had been a sore spot for them lately, and it seemed to Sonny that there was something else bothering Will. Something he wasn't telling Sonny, something he was holding back. Sonny couldn't figure it out, and since he usually could read Will, it bothered him that they had drifted so far from each other. In the past they were so connected that even if he didn't know what was bothering Will, he could get Will to talk to him. The more Sonny thought about it, the more he was relieved that Will agreed to go to counseling with him. Maybe he would finally open up about what was going on inside his head.

He went behind the bar first, to check the receipts for the day and get a count of how they had done the week before. Business looked like it was a little slow that day, but he didn't mind as he could use this time to get caught up in paperwork and scheduling. Usually he took his time, and was willing to stay as long as he needed to so that everything was done. There were even times in the past, if he was going to be working late, Will would bring Ari around and they could spend time together while Sonny worked. Lately that hadn't been happening, and today he just wanted to get everything done as soon as possible. He needed to get back and hopefully continue making progress with Will.

Sonny was so focused on getting done what he needed to, he completely ignored his surroundings. It wasn't until Ben tapped him on his shoulder that he even looked up, only to see his Uncle Victor staring at him.

"Hey, Uncle Vic."

"Sonny. You seem really preoccupied. I have been trying to get your attention for the past 3 minutes."

Sonny looked startled for a second, not realizing he had been ignoring his uncle.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Vic. I just have a lot of things on my mind and a lot to take care of."

"Anything I can do to help?"

Sonny smiled. "No, that's okay. I appreciate it, but I can handle it."

"I'm sure you can. Now, there was something I needed to talk to you about."

Sonny looked at the clock. "Can it wait? I really do have a lot to take care of."

"Sonny, this is important. I want to talk to you about that new club of yours."

As soon as the new club was mentioned, Sonny's eyes hardened and his body stiffened. Along with his marriage with Will, the disaster that was the new club opening was a sore spot for Sonny. He hated that he failed so badly with the opening of that club. He wanted to show how great of a success he could be. Instead, he made some bad decisions, and since his supposed _best friend_ Chad DiMera had no interest or cared in what was going on, Sonny was on his own to try and clean up the mess.

"Uncle Vic, like I said, this really isn't a good time. I really have a lot I need to take care of and I want to get it done so I can get home as soon as possible."

"Is everything alright?"

Sonny took a deep breath. "Yes, everything is fine. I just need to get a few things done and get out of here. I'm sorry."

At that, Sonny walked away from the bar and headed to his office. Most people didn't bother him in there, and he was hoping to be able to get a lot done. But he had forgotten the mess he had left in his office the night before. After destroying his office the night before, he had cleaned up a little, but there was still obvious evidence that something that happened. The funny thing was that at that moment, he felt his office truly reflected how his life was going.

He had started to look through the papers scattered around when there was a knock at the door. He groaned and walked to the door, assuming it was his Uncle Victor.

"Look, Uncle Vic…" But as he opened the door, he realized it wasn't his uncle, it was Ben.

"Hey, sorry. Just me."

"Hey, what's up?"

Ben looked around the office, and saw how messy it was. "I just wanted to check in and see if everything was okay. Do you need any help in here?"

"No that's okay. Thanks for asking, but everything is fine."

Ben took a deep breath. "Listen, Sonny. You are a great boss and have been a great friend to me. I know you have been dealing with a lot with the opening of the new club, and you have a family to take care of. If you ever feel like you need someone to talk to, I'm really good at listening."

Sonny just stared at Ben, not sure of where the conversation was going. "Like I said, everything is fine."

"I know you have had a lot on your plate, and I'm not trying to intrude on your business. I just wanted to let you know, if you need a friend or just someone to vent to, I'm here."

Sonny looked away at that moment, nodding. He probably could use someone to talk to, someone who could listen and give him advice. His relationship with Ben was different than with T, or with anyone else. But he still wasn't sure he wanted to completely let Ben in, to admit what was going on. He wasn't sure how to open up to Ben. Then there was the issue of Ben's relationship with Abigail. Since she was a sore spot for Will, maybe Ben couldn't be someone he could talk to, unless he knew that it wouldn't get back to Abigail. He loved his cousin, but she tended to try and butt into something that really wasn't her business.

"I appreciate the offer, but like I said, I'm okay. The only thing I need is for you to get back to work."

Ben held his hands up in surrender. "Okay. Just keep in mind my offer. You have helped me out and been there for me when you didn't have to. You are a god friend to me, and I just want to return the favor."

Sonny didn't say anything just smiled and nodded. Ben took that cue and went to go back to work. Before he completely walked away, however, Sonny called out to him.

"If I did want to talk, do you think it was something we could keep between us?"

"Yes, of course. I'm assuming you mean T?"

"And Abigail as well."

Ben looked confused for a second, not understanding why Sonny wanted to keep something from her, as he thought they had a great relationship. But Sonny was his friend, as well as his boss, so if he wanted to keep something private, Ben could respect that.

"Yes, we could keep it between us. Like I said, Sonny, you are a great friend and a great boss. But it seems like a times you want to carry everything on your shoulders. You solve everyone else's problems. Sometimes it is okay to let people help you out as well."

With that, he walked away, leaving Sonny to contemplate his offer. Maybe opening up to Ben would be good. It may help him gather some insight as to what to do with his marriage, and maybe take away some of the stress. Ben was a neutral party, but not really connected to Will. But he was unsure if Will would appreciate him talking about their problems with other people. For now, he decided to hold off. Hopefully, if the less people knew, the less they would butt in and give their opinions, and the more Will and Sonny could continue to try and work together.

Back at the apartment, Will continued sitting on the couch watching Ari play with her toys. He was still upset over what happened before Sonny left, but now the hurt was coming in as well. Was that truly how Sonny saw Will? As a vindictive person who would do anything and screw over anyone for a story? Will wanted to believe that wasn't true, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized it might be. Sonny was the person who saw the good in everyone. If he saw this flaw in Will, then maybe he truly was this person.

Will thought back to the past few months, and how a lot of the fights between him and his husband seemed to stem around his work. While he loved writing and the rush he got when it was published, if he was truly seen as this horrible person, maybe it just wasn't worth it anymore. He had been trying so hard to prove he was great, that he could hack it like anyone else, and that he had the talent to make it. All he seemed to get was people being either disappointed in him or angry over what he wrote. Any time he got any praise, it was because the person praising him really wanted something else from him, causing him to hurt more people.

A part of him really wanted to do what Sonny was asking him about. He wanted to out Paul, to tell the world who Paul Narita really was. To make him feel some of the pain that Will has been feeling. _'If he wanted to stay in the closet, then he shouldn't be screwing someone else's husband.' _But he knew, that no matter how satisfied he would feel in his revenge, or how great or newsworthy the article would be, that people would make him out to be the bad guy again. All it would do was give people more ammunition to say how vindictive Will was, how he was exactly like Sami, and he just didn't want to deal with it anymore. It would be the Abigail/EJ/Sami triangle all over again.

He suddenly had the startling fear that his marriage was exactly how people used to treat him and his mom, or his mom and whoever she was with at the time. Whenever Sami did something over the top or went off the rails, people automatically went to him, Lucas, Rafe, EJ, or whoever, and complained. They would rant and demand Sami be reined in, be controlled and reprimanded for her actions, and whoever was on the receiving end would just stand there, try at times to defend Sami to a point, but then most of the time apologize for her behavior and let anyone just rage against her. Now, the roles had been passed down. He was the one who people were constantly disappointed in or angry at, and Sonny was the one who had to defend him or hear all about it.

Sometimes he truly didn't understand why Sonny was with him. Why did Sonny marry him, choose to be with him, when he could have almost anyone he wanted? Why, after everything, did Sonny still want to try and make their marriage work? He knew Sonny believed in loyalty and family, and the horrible thought crossed Will's mind that, maybe, even if Sonny didn't want to be with Will, he felt forced or that he had to stay with Will. It was a big deal for the two of them to get married, and a lot of people wanted their marriage to succeed, no matter what.

Will knew that line of thinking wasn't going to help him, and that he needed to start moving past this, but the pain just held on and he didn't have the strength to force himself to stay positive. The pain from the past few days came barreling down on him, and the emotions he had been trying to keep bottled in came back up. Tears ran down his face, and his breathing quickened. He tried to stop the panic attack from fully happening, but nothing seem to stop it. He forced himself to sit up, take deep calming breaths, and focus in on a point on the wall in front of him.

After a few minutes, his breathing slowed down, and the pain in his chest lightened. He wiped the tears off his face, and focused in on Arianna Grace. His beautiful daughter seemed oblivious to him going through his turmoil, and for that he was grateful. He called out to her, and she looked up at him and smiled. The genuine smile she had that would light up his world. He smiled back at her, and she reached out and touched his face. It was like her way of saying without words that everything would be okay. His little angel.

"Thanks, baby girl."

She smiled again, then went back to playing with her toys. He chuckled at her, so cute and innocent, and it makes him realize what was important. He was going to pick himself back up after all this. He needed to know where his marriage stood, and where he stood with Sonny. Hopefully, Sonny's idea of counseling would help to answer these questions in Will's head.


	10. Chapter 10

After sitting on the couch for about an hour watching Ari play, Will contemplated what he needed to do next. He knew that Sonny wanted him to stay at the apartment and wait for him, but Will wasn't sure how long Sonny was going to be out. It still hurt him to be in the apartment after their fight, and Will wasn't completely sure he wanted to come home right away. He still needed time, and he needed to be able to look at Sonny and not think about him cheating. Not think about him being in bed with another man, loving another man.

On the other hand, he couldn't keep carting Ari around, taking her back and forth from place to place. He had that growing up, and he always promised himself that he wouldn't let that happen when he had kids. Ari needed to feel secure and know where her home was. He also felt that if Sonny was truly committed to making their marriage work, then he needed to show Sonny that he wanted them to work as well. Maybe they needed to take a step back, sleep separately for a while, but they needed to be together.

His was pulled out of his thoughts by his phone ringing. It was his boss, Zoe. She was probably waiting on an update for the article. He ignored the call and let it go to voicemail. He couldn't deal with any thoughts of the article at the moment. She was probably upset that he had not gotten back to her sooner, as she expected the article in a few days, but he honestly didn't care. He would write the article, without the scandalous information they probably were hoping for, and then he decided he would take a step back. A step back from the person he was becoming, and try to figure out what he wanted for his career. He was ashamed of a lot of the things he had done as a writer, and if it saved his marriage, maybe it was worth giving this up as a career. He could still write a blog, possibly stories, but being a reporter and doing what he had been has only caused him pain.

His phone rang again, and this time it was his Grandma Marlena, so he answered it.

"Hi Grandma."

"Hello, Will. How are you?"

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm okay. I was wondering if you were available to meet. I haven't seen you in a while, and I thought we could sit down and talk."

"Um, now is actually not a good time. Ari needs to go down for her nap soon, and Sonny is out at the club so I need to stay here with her."

"That's okay, I can come by the apartment. I can be there in 20 minutes."

"Ah, okay then. I will see you when you get here."

He hung up the phone, and realized there seemed something off about his grandma's tone. He wasn't quite sure what it was. He decided he would figure it out when she got to the apartment, and spent the 20 minutes it took for her to get there by calmly rocking Ari and settling her down for her nap.

She was almost out in his arms when there was knock at the door. He carefully opened the door and signaled for Marlena to be quiet as Ari was dozing. She quietly walked in and lovingly looked at both Will and Ari. Will walked over to Ari's room and laid her down in her crib, carefully. He watched her for a moment, and when he realized she was asleep, he quietly walked out to see Marlena.

She had sat down on the couch, and when she looked up at him, she asked, "She asleep?"

"Yeah, out like a light. She had a busy morning."

When he looked at Marlena as he said the words "busy morning", he realized suddenly why she was over at the apartment.

"You know."

"Know what?" she asked, puzzled.

"Grandma. You know what I am talking about. You know about Sonny and me."

He looked down at his lap, unable to look at his grandmother anymore. He knew she came over to talk about it, but he wasn't quite sure _he_ was ready to. After all the talking that had gone on that day, he didn't know if he had the energy to keep talking about it.

"Yes. Your father called me, concerned about you. Then Adrienne called me, concerned about Sonny."

Will was surprised to hear about Adrienne calling Marlena, but then he realized that Sonny must have talked to her.

"Will? Can you look at me?"

Will looked over at her, looking ashamed and embarrassed. To his horror, more tears began to run down his face.

"Oh my dear boy. Come here." She opened her arms and pulled him against her.

He cried, and the whole story came out. About how he and Sonny were struggling in their marriage, fighting and couldn't seem to communicate, how the financial struggles were weighing in on Sonny, and how Sonny cheated on Will with his ex-boyfriend after drinking. Then about the fight they had afterwards, and the vicious words Sonny spewed at Will in a drunken rage. All the pain Will had been feeling came pouring out, and he told her how he felt that he wasn't sure they could get through this. That he feared Sonny was still in love with Paul, and he didn't know how to get past and let go of what had happened.

Marlena just sat on the couch and listened, every once in a while rubbing his back or calming him back down when he sobbed. Her heart broke at the pain her grandson was in. While she knew that he was in part to blame for the mess his marriage was in, she knew he loved his husband with all his heart. He was just a little too much like Sami. He let his emotions control him and doesn't always think before he acts. But it was times like this that she was reminded of the lost boy who came to her, not speaking to his mother and afraid because he had just kissed a guy and enjoyed it. He wanted to be accepted by others, to show that he was deserving of good things happening to him.

Will eventually calmed down, and pulled away from Marlena. He wiped his face with his forearm, looking away from his grandmother.

"I'm sorry."

Marlena was confused. "Why are you sorry?"

"You must be disappointed with me. My marriage is failing."

"Oh my dear boy. I am not disappointed with you. Why would you think that?"

"Because this is my fault. I let my marriage get this bad. I don't know how, but it happened. And now I don't know what to do. How do I move forward with Sonny if he is in love with another man?"

"Will, do you honestly believe that Sonny is in love with someone else? The way that he is in love with you? Because I don't. It doesn't matter what past they have or what happened. The only thing that matters right now how you decide to move forward. I believe that man loves you with his whole heart. He got into a bad place, and said some horrible things, and now regrets it. The question is can you let go of what has happened?"

Marlena looks a Will for a moment, letting him take what she is saying in. She then continues.

"You need to decide what is best for you, Sonny, and that little girl resting in her room. Both you and Sonny have let things get in the way and have forgotten that you are a family. It is not just about you anymore, and it is not just about Sonny anymore. You two need to talk to each other more, spend time together, and be honest with each other."

Will nodded, still looking down at his lap. He especially had become so focused on getting his career started that he completely disregarded his priorities of his family. Maybe that was where they should start.

"Sonny and I agreed that we need to start going to counseling."

"I think that is a wonderful idea. I can recommend someone if you want. It would probably be better for the two of you if you went to a neutral person. Someone you are not already emotionally connected with."

"Thanks, grandma. I agree with you on the neutral person. And thank you for coming over. I'm really glad we talked."

Will smiled at her, and Marlena smiled back and hugged him. "Of course. I am always here whenever you need me."

The two talked for a few more minutes, before Marlena left, telling Will she would look into a few marriage counselors to see who would be available to see them. She also told Will that the two of them may want to also see individual counseling as well, and that maybe the counselor they see could do that as well. Will thanked her and told her he would talk to Sonny about it.

After she left, Will checked on Ari to make sure she was still sleeping, then sat back on the couch. The whole day had worn him out, but he had a lot to think about. He still wasn't ready to forgive Sonny for cheating on him, or for the things he said, but he felt that given time, he could. It was amazing how two days could change a lot for him. Now he just needed to figure out what road he was going to go down.

He wasn't sure when Sonny would get back from the club, and that brought on the question of what was he going to do? He couldn't sleep in the same bed as Sonny, especially not _their_ bed, but being in the apartment wasn't as bad as he thought. Ari was certainly happier here, and he knew if he kept staying at other places, people would eventually find out something was wrong. Maybe it was crazy to think, but he wondered if maybe they could solve their problems before too many people found out what had happened. Whenever something scandalous like this happened, people immediately picked sides or barged into the situation to give their opinions. He didn't want people's opinions. That was what usually led to more trouble. There were a few that mattered to him, and that he needed to talk to, as did Sonny, but that was it. Hopefully the fewer people that knew, the less likely the situation would get out of control.

He looked over at the clock and realized he hadn't eaten anything that day since breakfast. He decided to try and make something. He couldn't really cook, but he could heat up any leftovers they had. They didn't have a lot, so he just made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and got a glass of milk. He didn't feel like he could eat a whole lot of food anyway. There was too much on his mind, and too much going on around him.

He ate the sandwich, but could barely taste it. He hated this feeling, this back and forth of feeling okay about everything and then feeling depressed about the situation. Maybe the individual counseling, at least for him, would be good as well. His grandmother was right in the fact that he and Sonny needed to start thinking as a team again, and needed to remember that they had Ari to consider. On top of everything else they had to worry about, financially they were strapped tight. He knew he could ask his family for help, but he didn't want to depend on them. If they got desperate, however, he would ask them. Ari didn't deserve to be burdened because her daddies were in a mess.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the sounds of Ari waking up. He went in to her, got her changed and brought her out to get her some dinner. She was such a happy go lucky little girl that it was hard to be sad or upset around her.

The moment that he began to feed her was the moment that he heard the door opening. He and Ari both turned to see Sonny walking through the door.

"Look whose back Ari? It's daddy Sonny." It felt so natural to say something like that with Sonny and Ari, and yet it made him feel sad.

Sonny smiled at the two of them, and he felt so elated that Will and Ari were still in the apartment. But the question was, were they staying?

_Author's note- Another two chapters for you all. Thank you again to everyone who has reviewed or has been following my story._

_One side note- I don't want to spoil it for anyone who has not watched Days this week, but I cannot believe what is happening on the show. I know drama is necessary, and maybe this is just me, but I don't understand why Will did what he did. It almost seems like we are supposed to hate the character._

_Anyway, excuse my rant. Please review and I hope you all enjoy the continuation of Learning to Dance in the Rain. More to come soon, I promise!_


	11. Chapter 11

Sonny walked into the apartment and walked over to the table where Ari and Will were sitting, leaning down to kiss Ari on the head. He almost went to lean over to kiss Will, like he normally would, but he realized that probably wasn't something Will would be receptive to yet. He hated how strained and tense things were, and wished he could figure out the magic fix to put them back to where they were six months ago, but unfortunately the real world didn't work like that. But he had to believe, that with time and work, they could get back to where they were before.

He decided to try for small talk, maybe have a conversation that was normal for them. He knew he needed to apologize for earlier, but he wasn't sure Will was open to hearing it.

"Did Ari nap at all?"

"Yeah, she woke up about 10, 15 minutes ago. How are things at the club?"

"Okay. It was slow today, but that was actually good for me, I was able to get a lot of paperwork done."

"That's good, I guess."

"Well, it's one less thing I have to worry about."

There was a lull, then Will decided to tell Sonny about Marlena's visit.

"My grandma Marlena came over while you were out."

"Oh yeah? How is she?"

"She is good, I guess. She really didn't tell me much. But she knows about us."

Sonny looked at Will, with shame written all over his face.

"I didn't tell her. I didn't have to. My dad had called her, and then your mom I guess called her, and they both told her."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Again, neither of them knew what to say. Will then said, "She said she would look into counselors for us to see. She also thinks that we may want to think about counseling individually, as well as together."

Sonny looked surprised at that, but then realized that it might be a good idea. "Do you think you want to do that?"

Will nodded. "Yeah, I think it would be a good idea, at least for me."

"Maybe it would be good for me too."

Will looked away at that. He still hated the fact that the two of them needed counseling after almost eight months of marriage, but that was the situation he found himself in. He finished feeding Ari and brought the plates and silverware to the sink to be washed, while Sonny got Ari out of her high chair and over to her play area.

Sonny decided to try and apologize again for what he said earlier.

"Will, about what happened before I left for work; I just wanted to say I'm sorry again."

"Don't. I don't want to talk about it."

"But I really need you to know…"

"I get it. You are sorry. Just forget it."

Sonny began to get frustrated. He was trying to talk to Will, trying to apologize for what was said earlier, but Will still wouldn't talk to him. How were they ever going to get past anything if Will kept shutting down?

But he decided to let it go for the moment. Fighting with Will was only going to push him further away and could make him leave again. He needed to try and get Will comfortable and talking.

"Did you eat anything? I can make us something." Sonny said looking at Will.

"I had a sandwich earlier. I'm not really hungry. But we have plenty of leftovers and things if you want anything."

Sonny left it at that, but was concerned about the fact that Will wasn't eating a lot. He probably hadn't eaten a lot in the past two days, but at that moment, Sonny didn't want to push. He wanted to continue making strides with Will, and not push him away. It was so hard to walk on eggshells in his own home, but he had to keep reminding himself that he did this. He cheated on Will and broke Will's heart and trust.

"Can I ask you something?" Will says to Sonny.

"Of course, you can ask me anything."

"Who knows about what happened between us? I know my grandma knows, and I stayed with my dad last night, so he knows, and my grandma told me Adrienne knows, but does anyone else?"

Sonny shakes his head. "No, I don't think so. My mom came over this morning, and I ended up telling her what happened, and I am assuming since she called your grandma Marlena that she might tell my dad, but other than that I don't think anyone else knows."

"Okay, good."

Sonny paused for a moment, and then said, "I didn't think you wanted a lot of people to know. I certainly don't want people to know how much I hurt you."

He didn't know how he would be able to face people once they found out. His uncle was always telling him how important it was that he fights to keep his marriage alive. And he didn't know how he would face Lucas after this. They used to have a great relationship, but lately things were a little strained since Lucas became close with his mom after his parents were having problems. How was he supposed to look at Lucas after this?

Will looked down at Sonny's statement. He hated thinking about how hurt he was. Sonny was probably the one person he felt the safest with, the most secure, and now he lost that. He lost that feeling of belonging and happiness, and he wanted it back.

"I don't. Everything is horrible enough right now, I really don't know how to deal with other people and their opinions right now."

Sonny went over to Will and tried to reach out to touch him, but Will tensed and turned away. Sonny dropped his hand and sighed.

"I hate that I did this to us. I hate that I hurt you. I want to give you the world, give you anything you want."

"All I wanted was you. I never needed anything else. I don't need the world."

"But you have me. I'm right here. I will say it as many times as you need to hear it. I'm not going anywhere."

Will begins to cry again, wanting to believe Sonny and at the same time wanting to walk out the door and never return. Why couldn't they have had this discussion before that awful day? Why couldn't they have realized their relationship was important before?

"The funny thing is though that you did give me the world. You gave me every dream I ever had, and some that I never thought would come true. The safety, the security, the feeling of that one person being there for you no matter what obstacle came. And then in one horrible day, you took everything away. You went to someone else, and slept with them. You took everything you knew about me, my deepest insecurities, and you threw them back at me."

Will took a deep breath to try and calm himself. He turned from the sink and looked at Sonny.

"I don't fully blame you. We both have done things to get us to this point. I've made some bad choices these past few months, and they have driven a wedge in between us. We've taken our relationship for granted, and forgot what makes us good together."

"But we can get back there. We are strong together."

"How, Sonny? Trust me, I really do want to get back to a point where things are good again, but I can't see it. I can't see a point where we are that family again. I can't see passed two days ago. I can't get out of my mind you telling me you slept with someone else, someone you have or had feelings for, and that you wished you never got together with me."

Both of them had tears running down their faces, and while Sonny wanted to hug Will and never let go, he felt frozen to his spot.

"And I know what drove you to that point. I do. I don't want to run around and point fingers and put the blame on you, because it was as much me as it was you. But you had so much hatred that night, and it was all pointed at me. I have never seen you so angry, and so vicious. You were the one person I felt safest with, the one person who I thought could accept me with all my faults, that no matter what you would love me."

"I do love you. Will, I love you with everything I am. Things just got so out of control that I felt like I couldn't breathe. I lashed out at you, because I was angry that I couldn't make things better. That things were bad between us, the club was struggling, and I lashed out. I'm human, I'm not perfect. But you have to believe me when I say that no matter what, I will always love you. I'm not walking away from you. You are right in that we took our relationship for granted. Meaningless things got in the way. But I know, the best part of my day is when I get to be with you, or you and Ari. And I know that at the end of the day, the one I want to be with is you."

Sonny could see Will tense, muscle twitching, but still not letting himself be comforted by Sonny. Will is trying to keep himself grounded, closed off. Sonny hates that Will is doing this, refusing to believe anything good Sonny is saying, but is determined to get through to his husband. They had to get through this. There was no other choice. He wasn't going to lose his family over one horrible day.

"Do you believe me when I say I love you?"

"I want to believe it. You have no idea how much I want to believe it." There was a pause, and then Will continued, "But after that night, and everything that was said, I really don't know if you love me, or if the feeling is gone."

Sonny didn't think he could be more devastated, but to find out that Will doesn't believe Sonny truly loves him nearly kills him. His husband didn't believe that he loved him.

"Do you still love me?" He was almost afraid to hear the answer.

It came immediately. "I never stopped."

"Neither did I. Will, you have to believe that."

But Will couldn't. He couldn't let himself believe that Sonny loved him, was _in love_ with him. Because if he did, and it ended up being untrue, Will didn't know how he would survive.

Sonny couldn't hold back anymore. He walked up and pulled Will against him. Catching Will off-guard, he crashed his lips onto Will's, pouring all his love and soul into the kiss. Forgetting all the world around them, and trying desperately to push past the barriers Will had erected, he kissed his husband. Pulling back slightly and caressing his face, Sonny implored Will to remember who they were. To believe in them again. He took Will's hand and placed it against his chest.

"My heart beats for you. From the moment I met you, I knew you were the person I was meant to be with. I love you, and am so in love with you. You may not believe me now, but you will. We will fix this. We will go to counseling, we will get back to what makes us whole again. We may be broken now, but I believe we can get us back."

Will stared at Sonny, praying that he could believe him. He missed the love that had been between them, missed kissing his husband and feeling that passion that was there. But he couldn't let go of the hurt and anger he felt, and the betrayal. He needed all of these words before. Before Sonny cheated on him and called his a consolation prize. He grew up feeling like a consolation prize. He never thought the man he loved with all his heart would think of him that way as well.


	12. Chapter 12

Before Will could say anything back to Sonny, his phone started to ring. He didn't answer and let it go to voicemail, but it broke through the fog that was coming down. He looked at Sonny, who looked pleadingly at him. He took a step back and walked away, needing some space. He needed to think about everything.

Sonny sighed, realizing they still had a lot of work ahead of them. "Did someone call you?"

Will shrugged, not all that interested. He looked at his phone and saw it was Zoe again.

"Just Zoe. Probably waiting on an update for the story."

Hearing about the article reminded Sonny about what he had said before he left, and he felt guilty all over again. He wanted to apologize again, but felt it was redundant at this point. It wasn't going to change anything, and he needed to try a get some kind of an in with Will so he would talk to him.

"When do you have to get it in?"

"In a couple of days. She probably won't be happy that there isn't some big story in it, but I really don't care at this point."

Sonny didn't say anything to that, not sure what the right thing to say was. Will's phone buzzed again, and this time his eyes hardened when he saw who it was and he tensed up.

"Who is it?"

Will didn't say anything, but it was obvious he was angry about whoever was calling. He immediately pushed to ignore the call and slammed his phone back on the table. Sonny jumped at the action, and looked over at Ari to make sure she was okay. Will took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm himself down.

"Hey, talk to me. Who was it?"

Will carefully looked over at him, but venomously replied, "Him."

Sonny was confused for a moment. Who was Will talking about? He couldn't think of any man that Will was that angry at except himself and…_oh_.

"Paul?"

He watched Will's fingernails dig into his skin and knew he had his answer. "Why is he calling you?"

"I have no idea. Probably wants to tell me all about seeing his lost love again. Or he wants to talk about the article. I don't care. I never want to see him again."

Sonny swallowed hard, wishing he could say something that would make this all better. Will seemed to be trying to keep himself calm for Ari's sake, but part of Sonny wished that Will would just say what was on his mind. He went to try and rub Will's back, but Will pulled away and walked towards their bedroom.

"I need a minute", he said, shutting the door. Sonny then heard him walk into the bathroom and turn on the water. He signed and looked at Ari, who looked at him sadly. He squatted down to her and wrapped his arms around her, unsure whether the hug was really for her or for him.

"I'm going to fix this, baby. I promise."

Will sat on the floor in the bathroom, hugging his legs to his chest. He felt like he was drowning and couldn't breathe. The water drowned out the sobs that were coming out, but he tried his best to keep as quiet as possible. The tears poured down his face and he cried out all the emotions he had been holding in all day. Who knew a simple phone call could cause all this pain? Would Will ever be able to pull himself back together again?

After spending about 15 minutes in the bathroom crying and trying to calm himself down, Will finally felt better enough to go back out. He knew he should feel bad about leaving Ari and Sonny in the living room, but he just needed some time to let some of the anger go. He needed to not explode in front of his daughter. If he kept calm, then maybe things could be okay for the moment.

When Will came out into the living room, Sonny could immediately tell Will had been upset. He hated that he couldn't give any comfort to his husband. He wanted to show Will that they could get through this and help him to realize that things would be okay. But the problem was he couldn't. Because he wasn't even sure things were going to be okay. Hopefully counseling and time would give them some peace and a way to deal with everything going on around them.

"Are you okay?"

Will nodded but didn't say anything. He just felt so drained and had no energy to do anything. The entire day took so much out of him, but he knew that they still had so much to work out. He sat on the couch and tiredly leaned his head back.

"You look tired."

Will didn't say anything, just looked over at Sonny. He knew what Sonny was going to ask, and unfortunately he still didn't have any answers. He wanted to go to bed, but knew he wouldn't be able to sleep in _their_ bed, especially with Sonny. He really didn't want to have to think anymore.

"Do you want to go to bed?"

Will shook his head. The next few moments were tense as neither knew what to say to each other. Neither wanted to start a fight, and no matter what they said, the other would probably be upset. The awkward silence was weird for the two of them; before, even if they were not saying anything, they were comfortable with each other and could converse with just a look or a touch.

Sonny decides to play with Ari, wanting to soak up every minute with her since he hasn't had the chance to the past few days and there is still the fear in the back of his mind that Will could leave and take Ari away. He knows deep down Will wouldn't do that, he has stated many times that he is Ari's father as well, but there is still that fear. Will watches them and smiles, knowing that his daughter is happy.

Will decides to finally look at his phone and see if he has any messages. Sure enough, both Zoe and Paul have left him a message. He listens to Zoe's first, which as he figured, was asking about the article and reminding him it was due in a few days. He paused a moment to decide if he should listen to the other message, but decides he can't avoid it forever. Paul's message is asking to meet him soon, that he needs to talk to him about the article. Will wonders what Paul wants to tell him, and how he will be able to see him without wanting to tear him apart.

He deletes both messages, but unfortunately the article is still on his mind. He doesn't know how he will be able to finish the article or handle it when it comes out. He was intending on it being this great article about a baseball player and the real man behind it, but now all he thinks about when he thinks about the article is how this baseball player hides the fact that he is gay, lies to the people closest to him, and is actively pursuing a married man.

Before he thinks too much about it, Will pulls out his laptop and reads over what he has written so far for the article. He makes a few small changes, and then continues writing about what Paul looks forward to in the future. He forces himself to calmly write everything down from his notes and memory, and steers clear of anything to do with Paul's secret. Or rather, _Sonny and Paul's_ secret.

Sonny watches Will on the computer, but doesn't say a word. He wants to know what Will is writing about, but is afraid that will cause more problems. Besides, it is close to Ari's bedtime, so he decides to give her a bath and get her ready. He is hoping that he isn't assuming too much, that Will is planning on staying with Ari in the apartment.

He decides to say something before he goes too far. "Um, I don't want to make any assumptions here. Are you staying here tonight?"

Will looks up from his computer at Ari and Sonny. It is starting to get late, and while he could still take Ari over to his dad's, he isn't sure that is what he wants to do or what he should do. Doesn't this tell Sonny that everything is okay when it really isn't?

Sonny reads the indecisiveness on his face. "I can sleep in Ari's room, if you want."

Will snorts at that word, _want_. He doesn't want any of this. He wants to be able to forget that his husband cheated on him. He wants to not have had that fight, and not hear those words Sonny said to him. He wants to be held by his husband and know that he is the only one loved by Sonny. But what he wants doesn't matter anymore. The reality is that they are in the situation they are in and somehow have to figure out how to fix it.

Sonny looked at him curiously, so Will just said, "I will sleep in Ari's room. I can't sleep in our room. Or I will sleep on the couch."

Sonny wanted to argue, but after seeing the look on Will's face, he decided not to. He got Ari ready and bathed her, forcing himself to keep a happy face on for her. He knew that he had an uphill battle with winning Will back, but it was so hard to keep trying all the time. He kept reminding himself that it had only been 2 days since he had cheated on Will and said those horrible things to him. He needed to remember that it was going to take some time before Will began to trust him and their relationship again. But it was hard. Besides their relationship problems, he had his own business problems going on, and he wanted to be able to just talk to his husband and find out what he thought they should do.

If they had the money, he would try to get Will to take a vacation with him. Maybe if they were away from Salem, they could start to rebuild. But he knew that was naïve to think. While part of their problem was in Salem, Paul, it wasn't everything. They needed to get back to where they were before. They needed to stop taking each other for granted and needed to stop putting their needs before each other.

He finished bathing Ari and got her dried off. She giggled as he tickled her while he dried her, and then helped her get dressed. She began to doze as he carried her back out to the living room, where Will was still sitting on the couch. The only difference was he had changed into a t-shirt and sleep bottoms.

Will smiled at Ari, who was dozing in her daddy Sonny's arms, feeling comfortable and happy.

"She's tired."

"Yeah, I think she is ready for bed."

Sonny carefully walked into Ari's room and set her down in her crib. She was almost too big for the crib, but still a little small for her own bed. For right now, it would work. Maybe one of their families had an old bed they could use until they could buy a new one. He quietly talked to Ari, telling her stories until she was completely asleep. He then walked back out to where Will was waiting, and again it was weird. Sonny decided that he couldn't take it anymore, and just went to bed. He said goodnight to Will, who repeated it back to him, and then Sonny went into their bedroom.

After getting changed and curling up in bed, his mind didn't seem to be able to shut down. What was he going to do? How was he going to fix his marriage? Will was here, physically, but emotionally he had cut himself off. Sonny could get a glimpse of the pain his husband was in, but then Will would pull back and shut down. He wanted to fix this. That was what he does. He fixes this and problems. He was the one people relied on when they needed advice or had issues with others. He was the clear headed one.

But now he was the one who needed help. He needed to try and show Will that he was not a consolation prize, that he was the one Sonny wanted to spend the rest of his life with. One mistake could not change how they feel about each other. This had to be just a bump in the road. Sonny needed to believe that. He needed to believe that his husband would eventually come back to him. No matter how long it took, Sonny just needed to wait and show his love for Will.

It could be that easy, right?

Unfortunately, Sonny had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that it wasn't going to be that easy, and the overwhelming fear that things had the possibility of getting much worse.

_Author's note- I had a little difficulty with these chapters, it was a struggle to get through. But I hope you all enjoy! I hope to get the next part up over the weekend! Thank you again to all those who have reviewed, and a special thank you to aphass and Love DS for your support and help with bouncing ideas about the story. I plan to use some of them coming up. As I'm sure you can see, the progress of this story is slow, but I feel like it is the only way to get through all the emotions and struggles a couple would go through if this happened.  
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_Please review!_


	13. Chapter 13

The next day was awkward to say the least. Neither Sonny nor Will knew what to say to each other when they woke up in the morning, and besides getting Ari ready for the day, it was quiet; too quiet for either one of them. After an hour, Sonny stated he needed to be at the club for a while, and Will stated that he would be here, but might take Ari out in the afternoon. Before Sonny left the apartment, Will asked him if he was going to go with them to see Gabi the next day.

"I wanted to. Why?" Sonny was afraid that Will would ask him not to go.

"I just needed to know in case I needed to find another car. If you were not going to, I can either take the car or ask someone to give us a ride."

"Well I am free to go. I would like to see Gabi as well."

"Okay. So I guess we will see you later then?"

Sonny nodded and kissed Arianna on the head goodbye. He wanted to kiss Will, act like everything was normal, but he couldn't. He just said he would see them later and walked out the door. He walked a few steps away from the apartment, and then leaned up against the wall, thinking to himself, _'We will fix this, Will. We can and will fix our family.'_

Will sadly watched Sonny leave and thought about how hard it was being in the same apartment as his husband. It shouldn't be that way, but unfortunately it was. He questioned whether or not it was the right thing for him to keep staying there, but a part of him didn't want to give up and didn't want to break up Ari's family. He didn't want her to grow up the way that he did.

He really hoped that the counseling or some answer would help them. At the moment, he couldn't see any solution that would change how he felt or make their situation better. He knew it was going to take time, but a part of him wanted to just have his husband hold him and lock themselves away from the rest of the world. He wanted the love and comfort and security he always felt from his relationship with Sonny back.

But he knew he couldn't push away the anger and the pain he has as a result of Sonny cheating and the words Sonny said to him. He knew he couldn't forget it all, and that they would never fully rebuild their relationship if he tried to do that. He would always feel angry and insecure and paranoid about their relationship. They needed to rebuild back to that security they had before.

Will was pulled from his thoughts by his the sound of his phone ringing. He saw it was Paul calling again. He angrily ignored it again. He didn't think he could handle to talking to the man, and every time he thought about him, he thought about Sonny sleeping with him. He wished that it was possible to be able to have some space from the situation, and if it weren't for Ari, he would take space from Sonny and the situation. But with Ari, he wanted to try and keep her life as normal as possible. And, if he was being completely honest, he didn't truly want to be away from Sonny. As awkward as it was at the moment, he wanted to believe that if they worked together, they could fix their relationship.

He heard his phone beep indicating a voicemail was left, and then again as a text came in. It was Paul again. _'I need to meet with you. It's important.'_ Will wanted to keep ignoring him, but unfortunately this was his job. They needed the money from this article. He decided to text Paul back. _'Sorry I missed your call. I was dealing with a family situation. I can meet you this afternoon in the park if you need.'_ He usually met Paul in his hotel room, but he couldn't stomach being where the 'scene of the crime', as he liked to think about it, happened. He couldn't handle being in the same place where Sonny slept with his ex and broke their vows. In the park, he could try to keep calm and professional.

Paul texted him back that meeting in the park was fine, and asked if one o'clock worked. Will agreed, and then decided to drop Ari off at the baby-sitter's while he was out. He didn't want Ari around Paul, no matter what happened. He then called Zoe and left a message that his article would be ready in the next day or two, and apologized for missing her call. As soon as he finished that, he got a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. There was so much secrecy revolving around this article, and he thought back to how weird his editor and the magazine owner were about him being completely _available_ to Paul. Did they know something about Paul and had wanted Will to uncover it as well? Why had this not occurred to him before?

More and more Will thought about his job and everything he had been through, the more he began to realize that this job had turned him into someone he did not want to become. He should have questioned further the need for secrecy and why Zoe wanted him to not show Paul that he was married. Was he being used all this time?

Will pushed the questions out of his mind and made sure Ari was settled for the moment. He pulled up the article again and read through it. It seemed done to him, but he usually liked to re-read through it several times before he submitted it. He sometimes also asked others to read it to see what they thought, but he since there was so much secrecy around the article, he couldn't. He decided to give it another day, and then if everything seemed good, he would submit it in. Maybe, if things were okay, he would show it to Sonny and see what he thought. That had to be a good step, right?

Meanwhile…

Sonny arrived at Club TBD to open and began making sure everything was set up for the day. Ben and T arrive as well, and they are given their marching orders. He can tell by the looks from Ben that he is still concerned about Sonny and wanted to talk to him. While Sonny is grateful that he has a friend like Ben, especially since his friendship with Chad is non-existent at this point and his other friends are all friends with Will as well, he still wants to keep the his life private for now. He still isn't sure how much he can trust Ben with, and Ben has his own issues to deal with as well.

The big thing he misses about his friendship with Chad is how much they understood and could relate to each other. Chad didn't care that he was gay and the two bonded over their families' history. When he and Will started dating, Chad was a great person to turn to when they had problems or when he needed advice. Now, Chad has become a true "DiMera" in every sense, and had basically turned his back on Sonny. Sonny could not understand why. He understood wanting a closer relationship with his father, but how could he completely turn his back on his friend? Someone who always supported him no matter what happened?

Sonny is pulled from his thoughts by the sound of his name being called. He looks up from the table he is working at and his stomach falls when he sees Lucas standing in front of him. He knows that Lucas knows about what he did, and he is nervous about why Lucas is standing here wanting to talk to him.

"Hey, Lucas."

"Hi, Sonny. Are you busy? I was hoping we could talk for a minute or two."

Sonny looks over at the bar, seeing that T and Ben have things under control, but are far enough away that they can't hear anything. He invites Lucas to sit down, but can't look him in the eye.

"I guess you know that Will told me about what happened between you two."

Sonny nods, but still can't look up. How do you try to explain to someone why you cheated on the love of your life?

"I can imagine how you feel about me right now." He finally looks up at Lucas. "All I can say is that I am so sorry and I am doing everything I can to make it up to your son."

Lucas studies Sonny for a moment. He wasn't planning on coming over and seeing Sonny, but the more he thought about what was going on, the more he wanted to help. His son was happy with the man sitting across from him, and he knew that he could continue to be happy with him. He truly believed that they were meant to be together. He felt that it was his job to offer any advice he could to them to ensure that they did succeed.

"Sonny, I am not here to start a fight or start yelling at you. I'm not Sami. What happened is between you and Will. I know my son. He is a bit too much like his mother at times. While I am upset over what happened, I also know that you are a good husband to my son and a great father to Ari. Couples go through rough patches. The challenge is to make sure you work through them together."

Sonny began to tear up. He couldn't believe that Lucas was there not to yell at him for betraying Will, but to talk to him and it almost seemed to look like Lucas wanted to help Sonny and Will through this.

"I hate myself for what I did. There is no excuse for it."

"But there is a reason."

Sonny nods, but doesn't say anything.

"Sonny, I have been married. Several times. Trust me when I say that I know that it takes two people to make a marriage work. I also know my son. I meant it when I said that he can be too much like his mother sometimes. I love Sami, but she creates drama. She puts her needs in front of everyone else's. Will can be like that sometimes. But you bring out the best in my son. My son truly came out of his shell when you two got together. I believe you two can make it. But you will have to rebuild your relationship."

"I'm willing to do that and put in the work. But I feel like Will is shutting me out now. I don't blame him for it, but I wish there was a way to get him to open up to me again."

"It's going to take time. Trust me, I've been in Will's shoes. Knowing your partner cheated on you and has or had those feeling for someone other than you is a hard thing to get through. You need to be patient. Will is going to most likely shut himself off from you and others; it is his defense mechanism. Don't let him push you away, but at the same time, be willing to give him space. Let him know that you are there."

Sonny nodded, agreeing with what Lucas was saying. He knew that Will was probably going to push him away at times, but he needed to keep proving that Will could trust him again.

"One more thing."

Sonny stared at Lucas, a little nervous now about the tone of his voice.

"Is this guy, this ex or whoever he is, is he still in the picture?"

Sonny shook his head. "I told him that whatever happened between us could never happen again."

"That is good to hear, but that is not what I mean. What I mean is, will he always be around, and is he staying in Salem?"

"I don't know."

"I don't want to sound harsh, Sonny, but you need to be sure and make it clear that, if you truly want to win Will back, this guy does not hang around. You are a good guy and you try to be friends with everyone, I think this is one of the things Will loves about you. But you have to know that if this guy keeps coming around, Will is never going to get over what happened. I know you guys have had issues in the past with guys hanging around, but I'm telling you, make it clear who you are choosing. Not only with the words, but with your actions as well."

Sonny swallowed carefully, feeling chastised but understanding why. He knew that Will had problems with Brian hanging around in the past when Brian had feelings for Sonny. It took a while before Sonny put his foot down and told Brian to back off. They went through the same issues with Brent, except Will came to realize that Brent did not have feelings for Sonny except for friendship. That was not the case here. He had hoped he made it clear to Paul that it was over between them, but that had not stopped Paul in the past. He feared that Paul was not going to give up, and now with the knowledge that Will was writing an article about Paul, it made things even more complicated.

"I know. Will asked me to promise him that I would not be around Paul, my ex. That I would stay away from him, and I did promise. I also called Paul and made it clear to Paul who I have chosen. That I chose to stay with Will."

"Well you need to make sure that Paul is completely clear. Like I said, I don't want to sound harsh or seem like I am butting in. But you have to be clear and show both of them who you really choose. If Paul stays in Salem, you can't be seen talking to him or hanging around with him. Don't be friends with him or invite him anywhere. In time, it will get better. But I know, especially from experience, you both have to communicate with each other and respect the other's wishes."

Sonny nodded and thanked Lucas for his advice. Lucas left, telling Sonny to keep having faith that things will work out. After Lucas left, Sonny continued to think about what Lucas said. How Sonny needed to keep being clear about who he wanted to be with. Sonny knew that his words held a lot of weight from his fight with Will, and that he needed to keep proving that Will was the man for him. He would keep his promise to Will about staying away from Paul.

He also had a feeling that he needed to show how he supports Will, not just by keeping his promises, but by standing beside him through all this. His husband was insecure, and he needed to find a way to get past all the insecurities and break down Will's walls again. It took a long time to break them down the first time. It took one day for those walls to go back up again. Now, Sonny had to try and break them down again. It was possible, right?


	14. Chapter 14

Will walked into the park and sat on the bench where he had previously met Paul. He hoped that this would be a quick meeting and he could get out of here as soon as possible. He needed to be able to move past all this, but he also needed time. Time that no one seemed to be able to give him. It had only been 3 days since Sonny had cheated on him, 3 days since he had seen how badly his marriage had fallen apart. Will needed time to rebuild himself and figure out how to deal with everything. But time was not on his side.

That fact became even truer when he heard Paul approach him. Looking at Paul, he felt all the anger, sadness and pain from the past few days bubble up again. He forced himself to calm down and greeted Paul.

"Hey."

"Hi. Thanks for meeting with me."

"No problem. I'm just about done with the article, though. I am going to submit it in tomorrow if you were looking to read it."

"Actually, the article is what I wanted to talk to you about. There is something else I haven't told you that I want you to publish."

The uneasy feeling in the pit of Will's stomach came back.

"Oh? What is it?"

Paul took a deep breath. "This is something that I have kept a secret for a long time. Something I haven't even told my family about. But recently, I've come to the realization that I need to be honest with the world. I have a chance to win back someone who I thought I lost a long time ago."

Will's throat closed up. He wanted to stop Paul, but his body would not cooperate.

"The truth is that I am gay. I am in love with a man, someone who I kept a secret from the public because I was afraid of being outed and losing my career as a baseball player. But now, I've realized that my career will probably be over anyway and I am free to be who I am."

"Paul, I need to stop you."

"No, don't. Will, I want you to write the article as my coming out story. I want to tell the world that I am gay and in love with a man. The man is actually here in Salem. We were recently together and I want to show him how much his love and our relationship mean to me."

Will couldn't take it anymore. He stood up from the bench and walked a few steps away from Paul.

"Paul, I can't write that in the article."

Paul looked surprised. "Why not? Do you have a problem with me being gay?"

Will laughed. Oh how he wished that was the issue. "No I don't. In fact, I am gay as well. I commend you for wanting to come out and tell the truth. I was outed through a news article, but it was not my choice. To have the choice to do this so publicly, I think it's great."

"Then what is the problem? I don't understand."

"The problem is that the man you say you are in love with is my husband."

Paul stared at Will, unsure if he heard him correctly.

"Did you just say…?"

"That Sonny Kiriakis, the man you slept with 3 days ago, is my husband. He is married to me."

Paul looked down and noticed the ring on Will's finger.

"I didn't know you were married."

Will stared at him, not saying anything further. Paul was quiet, but calculating in his head of what to do now. He never expected to find out the man who was interviewing him was the husband Sonny had been talking about. _He_ was the big competition?

Will continued. "So, I'm sure you can understand, given the circumstances that it wouldn't be ethically right for me to out you to the whole world. I am happy to finish writing the article that I have now, and you can find another writer to write your 'coming out true story'."

Will began to walk away, but the anger he held in came forward, and he decided to issue a warning.

"By the way, stay the hell away from my husband. What happened between you two is over and done."

Paul smirked at that, and decided that the conversation wasn't over.

"It must kill you that Sonny came looking for something else. _Someone_ else. I mean, if I was still with Sonny, there is no way in hell he would ever need to find someone else to be with. I knew, and I still know, how to keep him happy and satisfied. Physically, mentally and emotionally."

Will tried to force himself not to rise to the bait.

"You lost him years ago. You forced him to be a secret. I married him. He chose me. He is _my_ husband."

"The only reason he was ever with you was because I was not ready to be out and proud. I am now. Do you really think that a small town guy could ever keep Sonny Kiriakis happy when he could have me? I've traveled the world. I can make all of Sonny's dreams come true. Now, that I am ready to be out, I am going to give him everything he has ever wanted and more. What could you possibly give him?"

"Shut up! Sonny loves me, and that is what matters."

"Oh really? Sonny loves you so much that the first chance he got, he came running to me? Did he tell you what happened that night? How I found him upset, we talked, and how he was all over me the first second we were in my hotel room. It doesn't matter how many drinks he had, he wanted it. His body responded to my touch and there was so much electricity between us. He craved every touch and kiss I could give him. I could tell from the moment I saw him again. When I saw him in the hospital and we kissed again, the magic that was there all those years ago was still there."

Will was stunned for a moment. "What kiss?"

Paul laughed. "Oh, he didn't tell you? When I first came to Salem, right after I had my surgery, I saw Sonny in the hospital. I found him in the common room and we kissed. It was like the past 3 years didn't even happen."

Paul laughed at the tears flowing down Will's face.

"Face it, Will. You will always be his second choice. He will always, in the end, come back to me. You can't fight it, so you might as well accept it. You lost."

With that, Paul walked away. Will stood there, stuck to the ground, his legs unable to move. He felt like all the air had left his body. The words _second choice_ and _consolation prize_ kept screaming in his head, and he felt like he was dying all over again. He stumbled back to the benches and collapsed onto one of them, breathing deeply to try and get more air into his body.

Everything Paul said was true. He couldn't give Sonny anything that Paul could give him. Sonny wasn't happy in their marriage, and the first chance he got, he took it. He then thought about the other things Paul had said. Sonny had known for months that his ex was in town. It wasn't a surprise encounter, he knew Paul was here. He had kissed Paul before when Will was away. How many other times had Sonny been sneaking around or seeing Paul?

Will looked at the gold ring on his left hand. The wedding ring seemed like such a mockery now. It was supposed to symbolize their love and commitment to each other. They couldn't even last a year. Their wedding seemed like such a joke now. It was such a big deal for him to even get married, and now he wondered why they even went through with it. Because they loved each other? That obviously didn't matter, or the past few months would not have happened. He thought back to right after they got engaged, and were dealing with the Nick situation. He had asked Sonny why he wanted to marry Will. He told him that he wanted to make sure that Sonny was happy and that he was glad he married him. Sonny told him that they would always be happy and he would always be glad that he married Will. Apparently always had a time limit of six months.

Will took his ring off his hand and studied it. He wondered if the vows they made last April were still possible after everything that had happened. How could they rebuild their relationship? And now, with Paul still in the picture, things seemed even bleaker. Paul made it clear that he was not going anywhere, and that he was going to get Sonny back. He seemed to act like Sonny was a toy, something he had a right to have. How could Sonny have ever been happy with someone like him? Will began to wonder if he ever truly knew Sonny, the real Sonny.

Time slipped by as he sat on the benches and thought again about his relationship with Sonny. He got pulled out of his thoughts by his phone buzzing. It was Sonny calling. He numbly answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey! I was wondering where you guys were. I am just leaving work right now, maybe I could meet you?"

"I had to take care of something, so I left Ari with the baby-sitter."

Sonny was surprised by that. "Oh. Is everything okay?"

Will didn't say anything, and that told Sonny that something was wrong.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. I just saw Paul Narita."

Sonny felt his stomach drop.

"What happened? Why did you see him?"

"He asked me to meet him about the article. He kept calling me and texting me. I just wanted to find out what he wanted and leave it alone. As it turns out, he wants me to write the article telling everyone he is gay."

"What?"

"Oh yeah. He says that he found the love of his life again and he wants to show him how much he loves this guy."

"What did you say?"

"I told him that it was unethical for me to write the article about him coming out since the man that he claims to be in love with is my husband. I told him that I would submit the article I wrote already, and he should get someone else to write his coming out story."

"Okay."

There was a beat of silence, and Sonny could tell something was really wrong. There had to be something else other than just seeing Paul and telling Paul he can't write the article.

"Where are you? I can come meet you and we can talk."

Will sighed, but said, "I am in the park where the benches are. Where we were for the 4th of July."

"Okay, I will be there in about 10 minutes." Sonny hung up and hurried over to meet Will. Something happened with Paul and Sonny needed to make sure that Paul had not completely ruined his chances of making up with Will.

When Sonny found Will, he was still sitting on the benches, looking down at his hands in his lap. The thing that alarmed Sonny, however, was that Will's wedding ring was off his finger and he was holding it in his hand.

"Will."

When Will looked up, Sonny could immediately tell Will had been crying.

"What happened?"

Will didn't answer at first, and then looked up.

"Do you remember, right before we got married, when I asked you why you asked me to marry you? We had just made love and you asked me what was going on."

Sonny was confused as to where this was going, but he nodded and said yes, that he did remember that day.

"I said that you asking me was proof positive that you loved me. You said that you do love me and always would; that you had never loved someone the way that you love me."

"That is still true."

"Paul doesn't seem to think so. He said that I will always be your second choice. That no matter what happens, you will end up back with him."

Sonny tried to grab Will's hands, but he suddenly stood up and turned away.

"How long have you known that Paul was in Salem?"

"What?"

"How long have you known that Paul was in Salem?"

Sonny didn't know what to say or where this was going. "Why does that matter?"

"It matters because apparently, you have known for months. That the two of you have been meeting and talking, and apparently kissing in the hospital. I knew he had been in town, but I didn't realize that you have been seeing him this whole time."

Will turned and looked at Sonny, wanting to know if that is the truth. Sonny didn't say anything, but his face gave everything away.

"So it's true."

"Yes, but please let me explain. No one knew about me and Paul, and he kept coming to find me. The only time I went to him was after he kissed me, which I was surprised at, and I went to tell him I was married and that the kiss would never happen again. I never told you because I promised Paul I wouldn't tell anyone who Paul was. I swear, when he kissed me, it was the first time I have seen him in 3 years. Yes, it was while you were gone. But nothing happened then."

Will fiddled with his wedding ring in his hand, and Sonny stood up and held his hands.

"You are not and will never be a second choice. You are my first choice. Yes, I was in love with Paul 3 years ago, and it ended because he was not willing to come out of the closet. But that doesn't matter now. I am with you. I want to be with you."

"Why?"

"Why? Why what?"

"Why do you want to be with me? I can't give you everything he can. As he puts it, he can give you the world and every other dream you have ever had. I can't do that. This is me, all I am ever probably going to be. A dad in a small town, trying to be a writer. That's it."

"Stop, stop. You are perfect in every way for me. I don't need the world. You and Ari are my world. You have given me everything I could have ever wanted."

"I can't help you fix your business."

"What? What does that have to do with anything?"

Will tried to pull away, but Sonny held on tight. Will sighed and said, "I can't do anything to help you fix your business. I can't fix our financial situation, I can barely pay our bills. He has enough money to help you rebuild and fix any problems."

"Do you really think that matters to me? I can go to our families to get money if we need. I love you. I don't know how else to prove it to you except to tell you and show you that I love you. I am not going anywhere. No matter what you do, I am not leaving. I don't want to lose you."

Will didn't say anything, trying to soak in Sonny's words. Sonny capped off his words by taking Will's ring and placing it back on Will's finger. He kissed the ring on Will's finger and cradled Will's hand against his face.

"This ring belongs here. Just like my ring belongs on my finger. As long as this ring is on my finger, we still have a chance."

He held up his left hand, showing off his ring.

"This ring is not going anywhere. Neither am I."

The tears continued to flow down Will's face, but this time he started to feel happier. He decided to let his guard down a little bit. He cupped Sonny's face, leaned in, and gently kissed Sonny. Maybe they could turn things around and make their marriage better.

_Author's note- Thank you again to everyone who has been following my story. I apologize for the wait, I had a bit of trouble and was feeling uninspired. But I hope you enjoy these next chapters. I apologize if Lucas seems too different from the show, but I felt it worked for the story. Thank you again especially to Love DS and aphass for your ideas and help with this story. If anyone has any ideas, please feel free to PM me. I always welcome ideas!  
><em>_Please review!_


	15. Chapter 15

After the kiss, Will and Sonny headed back through the park to pick up Ari. There was still a lot of tension and anxiety radiating from Will, but Sonny was so happy at the fact that Will had kissed him. He finally got the opening he had been looking for. He knew it wasn't possible that everything was fixed and would be perfect now, but this was a sign that Will was not walking away from their marriage. He had hope!

They had started to head back to the apartment, after picking up Ari, when Sonny stopped. Will looked at him questioningly.

"I have to go back to the club in an hour or two. What if, instead of going back, we go get some lunch at the pub then hang around the town square? Maybe you and Ari could even come over to the club with me."

Will bit his lip in thought. He was tired after his confrontation with Paul and his conversation with Sonny, and a part of him just wanted to curl up in the apartment the rest of the day. But on the other hand, it felt good being out with Sonny and Ari, and he knew if he stayed in the apartment, he would dwell on everything that had happened. The kiss with Sonny was a big leap of faith, and a huge leap forward in rebuilding their relationship. He looked at Sonny, who looked pleadingly at him to agree and decided it sounded like a good idea.

"Okay, that sounds good. Ari ate her lunch already, but I could get something to eat." It was almost 2:30 by that point.

Sonny beamed happily at Will and hugged him. He wasn't quite sure why, but the thought of them staying locked in the apartment didn't sit right with him. It was easier for him to get back to work if they stayed near the club, and they got to spend more time together. He was starting to realize that this was one of the things they had stopped doing. Before, Will would hang out at the coffeehouse while Sonny worked so he could still have a chance to be with them when he worked long days. And when Ari came along and _Common Grounds_ became _Club TBD_, Will would set up at a table and spend the whole day there with Ari. It was just another sign that they had taken their relationship for granted and forgot the little things that mattered. '_No more.'_ Sonny thought to himself.

The Brady Pub was quiet when they got in, so they were able to grab a small table right away. Since they did not have Ari's stroller, Will held Ari in his lap while she played with a few toys. Sony grabbed a highchair so that when their food and drinks came, Will could eat without worry about Ari. The whole thing felt so simple and natural, and yet at the same time, something out of the ordinary.

Will looked over at Sonny to see him smiling at the scene in front of him. "What?"

Sonny shrugged. "It's just nice being here with you and Ari. I miss doing this."

Will looked down, understanding what Sonny was talking about. They used to do this a lot, but lately it felt like they never had time together.

Will took a deep breath and said, "Maybe, going forward, we should schedule or make time so that we can make sure we do this once a week. Even if we just hang out at the club."

Sonny beamed brighter at Will. "I think that is a great idea."

Will smiled back at Sonny, and put Ari in the highchair when their food arrived. While Will had fed Ari before he left and brought her to the sitter's, his nerves from the situation and seeing Paul caused him to lose his appetite earlier, so he had barely eaten all day. Now though, when his chicken sandwich and fries was placed in front of his, his appetite came back with gusto. He immediately bit into his food, and Sonny smiled at seeing Will eat. With some of his anxiety gone, Will seemed to be able to find his appetite again. '_Another good reason for staying out of the apartment'_ Sonny thought to himself. They needed some time in which they were constantly not reminded of the stress on their marriage.

Halfway through their meal, Marlena came in to the Pub and went over to them to say hi. She didn't stay long, claiming to need to meet with a patient, but she wanted to give them the name of a counselor who is available to see them. She handed Will a piece of paper with the doctor's name and number.

"She is very highly recommended, and has flexible hours. I think she would work for what you need."

Will took the paper and put it in his pocket. They thanked Marlena and she left, but not before commenting on the scene in front of her.

"It is so nice to see the three of you out and about today. It's good."

Will and Sonny smiled at her as she left. Unfortunately, the encounter had reminded them of their situation and the reasons why they needed to see a marriage counselor.

"I almost forgot."

Sonny looked up from his food. "What?"

"I almost forgot about what was going on. This just felt so right and normal that I forgot our situation. It was nice for a moment to not think about it."

Sonny reached across the table to grab Will's hand. "Hey", he said gently, "Let's just enjoy this day for now. We still have a lot to work through, but we can get there. We have a chance to make this better."

Will sighed. "I just wish it had not taken us so long and we got so far apart before we decided to work on this. I wish we realized all this before that day happened." He still had trouble voicing out loud what day he was talking about, but Sonny understood.

Sonny nodded, agreeing. "Yes, but now we realize what we have is special. We can do this, Will. I know I hurt you when I did what I did, but don't give up on us just yet."

Will nodded and squeezed Sonny's hand. He looked around and, seeing that no one they knew was around, he decided to call and make an appointment with the counselor. He got out his phone and dialed the number.

"Hi, my name is Will Horton. I was recommended to Dr. Greenberg by Marlena Evans, my grandmother. I was hoping to make an appointment for me and my husband."

The receptionist looked at the schedule and asked if the next day would work. Since they were going to see Gabi, Will declined. When she suggested the day after, Will looked at Sonny, who nodded that it would work for him.

"That works."

"Great. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment to fill out some paperwork. Dr. Greenberg looks forward to meeting with you."

Will thanked her and hung up the phone.

"Our appointment is the day after tomorrow, at 2. She said to be there 15 minutes early, I guess to fill out paperwork and stuff."

"That's fine. T and Ben should be able to cover for me for that time."

Both became quiet again, not sure how to move the conversation forward. Sonny decided to try.

"It will be nice to see Gabi tomorrow."

Will nodded, agreeing. He paused, and then said, "I'm probably never going to be able to make up for the time I was in L.A., so I really want to try and stick to the schedule we created."

"Gabi doesn't blame you for being away. You got a great opportunity and you went for it."

"Yeah, and look where it got me?" Will sighed and said, "Sometimes, I wish I had never gone to L.A."

Sonny was surprised at that. While he agreed that some of their problems stemmed from Will going to L.A., he never realized how much Will regretted that decision. Sonny wanted to say something to make Will feel better, but he couldn't think of anything. Will's decision to leave hurt him a lot, and added to the reasons of why he sought the comfort of someone else. While there was no excuse for him cheating on his husband, it was part of the reason why he did.

"Well, we can't change what happened in the past. The only thing we can do now is try to move forward."

Will nodded, and Sonny could tell something was weighing on Will's mind. He asked him what he was thinking about.

Will sighed, but said, "I guess this is a good time to tell you. I'm thinking about quitting my job."

Sonny stared at him, shocked. He never expected Will to say that.

"Where did that come from?"

Will shrugged. "After what happened, I have been thinking over all the problems we have had. I just feel like it was such a mistake to start writing for _TrueVista_ and _Sonix_, and maybe it's time that I realized I shouldn't be doing this."

Sonny didn't know what to say. "But you love writing."

Will huffed. "Yeah, and look where it has gotten me. I'm sick of people being angry with me over what I do. It's just not worth it anymore. I'd rather be a waiter or have a regular 9-5 job than being crucified every time I try to accomplish something."

Sonny could hear the pain in his husband's voice, and felt that there was more than Will was saying. He agreed that a lot of Will's decisions with his writing were things that people criticized him on, but he felt his husband was so good and could do a lot with it.

Will continued. "Look, I know the timing isn't great financially, but after I submit in this article, I am going to send out my resume to places and see what I can get. Hopefully I can start bringing home a regular paycheck and figure it out from there."

"But you should enjoy what you do. You shouldn't take any job out there."

"I really don't care whether I enjoy it or not. I'd rather have a regular job than continually have people putting me down for what I wrote."

The statement was not meant towards Sonny, but he still felt it regardless. He realized it was part of the reason why Will wanted to quit. He had not been supportive of Will and his writing lately. While he felt Will was an amazing writer, he realized that maybe he had not shown that to Will.

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know. I know things are tight for us, so I will start looking as soon as possible."

The two became silent again. Sonny didn't want the mood to turn sour, so he tried to think of something else to do so they could still have a good day. He thought about when Will first told him how excited he was about writing, and good it made him feel. Maybe, instead of working at the magazine, Sonny needed to encourage Will to remember why he loved writing so much.

"Do you remember when you first got the fellowship to Berkeley?"

Will nodded, not sure where Sonny was going with this.

"I remember how full of life you were when you got back. You were so excited about this new opportunity that had come up. I don't want you to give up on that. I don't want you to lose that spark you have when you talk about your writing. I probably have not shown it lately, but you are such an incredible writer and you could go so far with it. Maybe taking a step back is okay, but don't give up on it. Go back to writing stories like you used to. You are so good."

Will bit his lip and looked back down at his plate. He was surprised at the compliment about his writing. He always felt that Sonny was embarrassed by him, and he felt embarrassed that everything he tried he seem to fail. He did love to write, but lately it seemed to change him. It didn't matter how good he was; he was sick of people being angry with him or disappointed in him for his writing.

Sonny looked at Will, concerned. "What's wrong?"

Will shook his head. "It's not important."

"No, tell me." Sonny reached out towards Will arms. "Whatever is bothering you, I want to know. We need to talk about things that are bothering us when they happen."

Will took a deep breath. "I don't want to keep doing something where people are disappointed in me or angry with what I write. I feel like I embarrass you. It gets harder and harder to be motivated when you feel like the people closest to you don't support what you are doing. I just want to do something uncomplicated and be good at it. Maybe writing should just be a hobby, not my actual job or purpose."

Sonny is stunned listening to Will. He wonders how Will could actually think he is embarrassed by him, but then he thinks back to the past year. He started off being supportive of Will and his writing, but when things went wrong, he didn't defend Will the way he should have.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. You don't embarrass me at all. But I understand why you feel that way. I haven't been showing my support to you or defending you to others when they go on the attack. But that is my fault, not yours."

"The thing is, I don't want to have a career or live my life in which you have to constantly defend me. I'm sick of being attacked and have to be defended. It used to be that way with my mom. I don't want us to be like that."

"We won't. We are not your parents, or my parents. We are us."

But Will didn't look convinced. Sonny decided to leave it for now, but knew that they would eventually have to get back to this conversation. But at least they were finally talking. That had to be a good sign, right?

_Author's Note- Just a quick chapter for you all to enjoy. Please review!_


	16. Chapter 16

_Author's note- Lots of angst in this chapter, just a warning. Also, I have said before, I am not a big fan of Abigail, and it will show in this chapter. I love all the reviews and am excited that I have over 50! I would love to get to 75, so please review and let me know what you think. I am working on the next few chapters. Thank you all!_

After paying for their meal, Sonny and Will gathered up Arianna and took a walk through Horton Town Square. Sonny needed to be back at the club, checking in on things and helping out since they were short staffed. But a part of him wished he didn't have to worry about the club. Things, while a bit strained, felt good between him and Will, and he wanted the night to keep going. Since they didn't have the stroller, Sonny held Ari in his arms with Will walking beside them.

Sonny wanted to brighten Will's spirits, but he wasn't sure how to do that. He decided that maybe asking about the job search might help.

"If you do decide to take another job, and I'm still not sure you should, but that is your decision, what do you think you will do?"

Will shrugged. "I don't know. I figured I would apply for a couple of entry level positions, maybe in the mailroom somewhere, and then just see who I hear back from."

"You are really good with computers. Maybe you could get a job in IT or website design or something."

Will smiled a little. "Yeah, maybe. It could be fun to work on computers."

"Yeah, I remember how much you enjoyed working on our website for _Salem U_. You are really good with computers."

Will smiled and blushed a little, enjoying the compliment from Sonny.

Sonny stopped. "I don't want to tell you what to do. I just want you to be happy. If your job doesn't make you happy anymore, then I support you leaving. But don't leave your job because of what has happened. I think you are amazing at writing and you really could go somewhere with it."

Will smiled, a real smile, but before he could say anything, a voice broke through. "You are leaving your job?"

The two turned to see Abigail standing there. The smile fell from Will's face, and he turned back to look away from her. She was one of the last people he really wanted to see tonight, since everything was actually going okay.

Abigail smiled at Ari and wriggled her fingers at her. "Hi Ari."

Ari smiled at her godmother, but then curled back into Sonny's arms, tired from the day's events but happy snuggled in her daddy's arms. Will was glad that at least she didn't reach out for Abigail. He wouldn't have stopped his daughter from going to her godmother, but it still didn't sit right with him to have his daughter near Abigail. This whole situation didn't just change his views on Sonny and their relationship; it changed his view of other people and their actions as well.

Abigail asked again, "You are leaving your job?"

Will shrugged. "It is just something I am thinking about. Sonny and I were talking about it."

"Do you have another job offer?"

Will shook his head. "No not at the moment."

Sonny interjected. "We were just discussing what his options could be."

Abigail looked towards Will and said disapprovingly, "Do you really think that is a smart decision now to do? I mean, Sonny has been working really hard don't you think you should help out too."

Will hardened at Abigail, and even Sonny took a step back, shocked and wondering where that came from. He knew things were tense between his cousin and his husband, but he never saw her be so judgmental towards him.

"I know Sonny has been working really hard. That is why I was looking into other options, something that would give me a steady paycheck."

"I just think that…"

Will snapped. "No one asked for your opinion. This is between me and Sonny."

Abigail's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, well you certainly didn't ask for my opinion before you almost ruined my life."

"Oh my god, I have apologized for that so many times. I didn't mean for your name to be printed."

"No, but that didn't stop you from writing the rest of the article. You didn't think about the consequences. All you cared about what getting your name in print and the publicity that followed."

Sonny again tried to interject, not wanting to cause a scene in front of Ari. "Okay, guys, don't do this here."

"Look, I am sorry about what happened. Okay? That was not my intention, and I hope that one day you can forgive me for that. But it is not like I printed any lies about what happened. You were the one who slept with EJ and nearly broke up my mom and EJ's relationship."

"Wow, thank you so much for reminding me of my mistakes. I'm so glad that I can move on from that."

"Well everyone just loves reminding me of mine."

"Your mistakes were caused by you. You love to play the victim and hope everyone feels sorry for you. Either that or you want people to praise you. At least Ari has Sonny in her life, a daddy she can count on. It must be exhausting for Sonny to put up with you! You are selfish and vindictive. You are exactly like Sami."

Both Will and Sonny are stunned by what she says. Even Abigail seems surprised at her own vicious words, but she doesn't try to take them back. A huge part of her feels relief at the fact she is finally telling Will exactly what she thinks of him. Will feels like the air has been sucked out of him, almost as if he was physically hit. He wants to defend himself, but it takes all his energy to stand there.

Sonny is incredulous of what is happening in front of him. He doesn't even know what to say to the things that Abigail is spewing in front of him about his husband, and to his husband. Unfortunately, his silence only fuels Will's thinking that Sonny agrees with what Abigail is saying. Tears pool in his eyes, but he refuses to let her see them. Instead, he turns and starts walking away. He doesn't care if that makes him a coward, he can't stand another minute there listening to her talk garbage in front of him. He momentarily forgets about Ari, but then thinks that Ari is probably better off being with Sonny at the moment. Sonny isn't the one who is about to completely fall apart.

"Will, wait!" Sonny calls out to Will, not wanting to walk too fast since Ari is in his arms. She looks confused at what happened and hugs Sonny closer to her. Sonny pulls her close and continues walking in Will's direction. He ignores Abigail's calls to him, unable to deal with her at the moment. He wants to yell and rant at her about how she needs to stop hurting Will and let go of her anger. Especially when it is in front of Ari. He wants to scream that Will is the best person he knows and she has no right to say anything terrible about him. That she has no idea how much Will is hurting, and that because of her, he could potentially lose his husband forever.

Will stumbled away from the square and found himself at the bench where he was when he ran out on Gabi and Sonny with Ari after finding out what happened to Nick. He sat down on the bench and tried to stop the tears from running down. He told himself to be stronger, to forget what she said. To ignore it all and focus on fixing his family. Unfortunately, her words caused further damage as they brought back the words from the night Sonny cheated.

_Flashback_

_Will stood in front of Sonny, who was stumbling in to the apartment._

_"__Where have you been? I've been worried and looking for you."_

_"__Why were you worried? I am a big boy, I can handle myself."_

_"__Are you drunk?"_

_Sonny waves his arms about. "So what if I am? I have had a lot going on. I deserve to let go and have some fun once in a while. Not like anyone else is going to help me fix anything. I'm never allowed to relax. Well guess what, today I decided to let it all go."_

_"__Of course you should let go and have fun, relax. I was just worried. Come on, let's go to bed."_

_Will tries to pull Sonny to their bedroom, but Sonny angrily throws his hand away._

_"__Don't tell me what to do. I don't need someone like _you_ telling me what to do."_

_Will pulls back. "What is that supposed to mean?"_

_Sonny laughs. "It means that at least I can make good decisions and have been a success. I have a great business. I've traveled the world. The only two mistakes I made was one, trusting that Chad DiMera would have my back..."_

_"__Sonny, I'm sorry for what you saw. I really was trying to get Chad to be your friend again."_

_Sonny ignores what Will is saying and holds up his two fingers. "Two, the other mistake I made was ever deciding to get involved with you."_

_Will stands there, stunned at what Sonny is saying._

_"__Oh what, did that hurt? Did the truth hurt? Well guess what, it is the truth. My life would have been so much better if I never got involved with you."_

_"__Sonny, please stop. You are drunk, you don't mean…"_

_"__Oh yes, I do mean it. I mean every word. You want to know where I was tonight. I met with my ex-boyfriend. He is in town. We had a few drinks, caught up, and then went back to his hotel."_

_"__Please stop. Ari is in the next room."_

_"__I don't give a damn. Why should I care about her? Why is she always my responsibility?" _

_Will stops, and stands looking at his husband. Or who he thought was his husband._

_"__Being with Paul, it was amazing. He knew exactly what I needed and what I wanted. I didn't have to talk him through anything. He loves me, and knows how to care for me. It was so amazing to be with someone who understands you and wants you. After that, I knew how much it was a mistake to have married you."_

_Tears ran down Will's face. "Please stop."_

_"__What? Is it too much for you? Is it too hard to hear that what everyone has ever said about our relationship is true? I am better off without you. You abandoned me when I needed you. All you have ever done is cause drama to my life. You lie and get into fights and cause problems. Paul was amazing to me, but we broke up because he wouldn't come out. But at least he never lied to me. He may lie to the world, but never to me. He was willing to give me anything I wanted. My life would have been so much better if I had stayed with him."_

_Tears stream down Will's face. He stays quiet, no longer trying to stop Sonny but letting him just go. He never imagined that his husband, the man he loved with all his heart, would ever feel this way about him._

_"__You were just a consolation prize. I felt sorry for you, and angry that Paul wouldn't come out for me. But now I know, that in my heart, the man I am meant to be with is not the second choice consolation prize in front of me. It isn't a hard decision. I don't know why I ever thought it was a good idea to marry you."_

_With that, Sonny stumbled off to bed. Will fell on to the couch, crying for a few minutes, before going to check on Ari. Thankfully she slept through everything. He walked back out to the living and crawled to the couch. He could barely breathe, and cried himself to sleep thinking about what just happened._

_End Flashback_

The memories of that night swept over Will, and he couldn't get the words out of his head. The pain of knowing that his husband, even at one time, thought of him as a consolation prize and regretted ever marrying him, still broke his heart. Then he thought about his daughter, and how much he wanted to be different from his parents. But he was exactly like his mother. Would Ari grow up and have the same dysfunctional relationship with him that he had with Sami? He never wanted that to happen.

He was still sitting on the bench, sobbing silently and trying to stop his tears from falling, when Sonny and Ari found him. Sonny's heart broke at the sight of his husband looking broken and defeated. He held Ari close to him, and carefully walked closer to Will.

"Will?"

Will froze and stiffened. He wiped his face and forced himself to stop crying. He didn't want Sonny to see how broken he was. Even worse, he couldn't let his daughter see how broken he was. He couldn't let her see him as a failure. He needed to be stronger, and he needed to not fall apart. When he was alone, he could fall apart. But not now. Not in public.

"Will? Baby, please talk to me."

But Will couldn't look at Sonny. He couldn't. If he did, the dam would break and he would collapse crying. He needed Sonny to get away from him.

"Don't you need to go to work?"

"You think I care about that right now? Baby, that doesn't matter. Please, look at me."

Will finally turned at looked at Sonny and Ari.

"Everything that Abigail said was wrong."

Will snorted and looked away, unable to believe that Sonny actually thought Abigail was wrong. The two of them were so close, and Sonny was so disappointed in Will that his article had caused Abigail pain.

"It's true. Everything she said was wrong. You are not like your mother, and Arianna Grace is so lucky that she has you for a father. Just like I am lucky I have you as my husband."

Will's chin trembled, as he tried hard to stay strong and not let anything get to him. He asked the question that was burning inside of him.

"Why didn't you say anything then? You stood there and listened to her, why didn't you say anything?"

Sonny sighed, disgusted that he stayed quiet and again hurt the one man he never wanted to hurt. "I was in shock. I couldn't believe that our cousin, someone who I thought was on our side, actually said those things about you. I really thought she had let everything go."

Will snorted. "Imagine that, thinking you know someone and then hearing them spew hatred words to you. It makes you wonder whether you really do know people."

Sonny knew Will was talking about him, about the night he came home after cheating. "When I said those things, they weren't true either. It was just a horrible day, and I said anything I could to hurt you, because I was hurting. It isn't right, but I can't change it. Believe me, if I could go back in time, I would to stop myself."

Will sighed, not saying anything. He still had trouble believing that Sonny didn't mean everything he said in his drunken rage, but he was trying to. Sonny wished he didn't have Ari in his arms, so he could gather Will in his arms and show him how much he loved him. He felt like every minute that went by, he was closer and closer to losing his husband, his family.

"Please, don't let what she said get to you. I'm sorry I didn't say anything, but it just shocked me. It was wrong, and I promise if I see her again I will say something to her. But please baby, don't let her ruin our evening. We were doing so well. Please, just come with me and go to the club for a bit. Please."

Will took a deep breath and decided that maybe, just this once, he wouldn't walk away. He still was not quite sure what to believe with his relationship, but if he walked away, he knew he would be giving up. He wasn't ready to give up just yet.

Sonny saw the look on Will's face and was confused as to what it meant. "Will?"

Will leaned over and kissed Sonny, just like earlier. The tears came to Sonny's eyes this time, and he smiled brightly when Will said, "Let's finish our evening. Ari and I will join you at the club."


	17. Chapter 17

Will and Sonny walked into Club TBD, and Will carried Ari over to a table towards the back. He propped Ari up on his lap and took her bag from Sonny that had all her toys and things for her. They took off her jacket and made her comfortable and happy.

Sonny smiled at the two of them. "I'm just going to check on things at the bar and then I will be back."

Will nodded. "We will be here. Unless I need to change Ari, then we will be in the bathroom."

Sonny nodded. "You can also use my office if you want."

Sonny then walked back over to the bar, waving to Ari as he left. It felt so good to have the two of them in tonight. He hoped that they could continue to have nights like this. It seemed to be when it was just the two of them, or the three of them including Ari, that things could actually be okay. They started talking and, as long as Sonny learned to stop putting his foot in his mouth, they could actually talk through some of their problems. Unfortunately, the problems start when others get involved. While some people seem to try and help, other like Paul and Abi were only going to hurt the situation. It wasn't in Sonny's nature to be mean to others, but he might have to start to put his foot down when others are treating Will badly. He used to in the past, even against his own family, but he realized that lately he wasn't defending Will. He wasn't defending his husband and supporting his choices, and that had further driven a wedge between them.

He thought back to when he and Will first met. When T was giving Sonny a hard time, Will immediately jumped to Sonny's defense. He kept telling T that he needed to treat Sonny with respect. Sonny was someone he had only just met, and T had been his friend for a long time. But it didn't matter. Will pushed his friendship aside to help out someone else. That was the moment that Sonny completely fell for Will.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard someone enter the club, and he looked up to see his mom enter. Adrienne walked up to the bar and greeted him, asking how he was doing.

"Better today", he said, smiling.

Adrienne was curious as to what had changed, and she gave her son a look. He indicated over to where Will and Ari were sitting quietly, and Adrienne raised her eyebrows in shock.

"We spent the day together."

Adrienne smiled. "That's good. I'm glad to hear it."

She then got quiet, and had a strange look on her face. When Sonny commented on it, she said, "I just don't want you to get your hopes up. While this is a good sign, it may take a long time for Will to completely forgive you for what happened. It took your dad and me years to get back what we lost when he cheated."

Sonny sighed and said, "I know. Trust me, I know we are far away from getting over everything, but I need to enjoy the fact that he is here right now with Ari. It may have been only a couple of days, and we have a lot to work out, but the fact is that he is here, and willing to work on our marriage. He is going to go to counseling with me, and we agreed to try to move forward from this."

Adrienne sighed and said, "I'm just concerned that things will get bad again. You were so devastated before."

Sonny reached for her hand. "I know, and I appreciate it mom. But I have to try. I love him, and he is my family. I can't give up yet."

Adrienne smiled and said, "I'm proud of you, son. If you guys need anything, let me know."

Sonny nodded and thanked her. When he turned and went to help a customer, Adrienne went over to where Will and Ari were sitting. Will looked up and smiled at Adrienne when she approached, and invited her to join them.

She sat down and asked, "How are you?"

"I'm okay. We are having a good day with Sonny and decided to stick around while he worked."

"I'm really glad to hear that."

There was an awkward pause, and Will suddenly knew what she wanted to talk about.

"I know you know about me and Sonny."

Adrienne smiled sadly and nodded. Will looked down at Ari sadly, and tried to keep himself from crying again.

Adrienne reached over to him. "I'm sorry to bring it up. I know you have been having a good day. I'm not trying to ruin that. I just wanted to let you know if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you."

Will looked up at her in surprise.

Adrienne smiled. "Yes, I know. As much as I love my son, I have been in your shoes, and understand how you feel."

"Adrienne, I appreciate the support, but I can't come in between you and your son. I hated when it happened before, and he needs the support as much as I do."

"You aren't. And I love the fact that you are worried about that. It makes it even clearer to me that you are the perfect partner for my son. I just wanted to let you know that I do understand how you feel, as I have been where you are, and if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you."

Will couldn't believe what Adrienne was telling him. He knew that Justin had cheated on Adrienne years ago, but to hear her say that she has been where he is, is a completely different thing. He and Adrienne, while their relationship has gotten better, have never been truly close. He just assumed that Adrienne would be on Sonny's side no matter what.

"While I am disappointed in my son, I love him so I do support him. But I believe the best way to support him is to encourage the man he loves, the man he belongs with, to work on their marriage."

Will couldn't believe that Adrienne was actually encouraging him to work it out with Sonny. A part of him feared that she would rather see Sonny with someone like Paul over him. He took a deep breath and asked one thing that had been bothering him. "How do you get to a point where you have that trust back and the pain isn't there anymore?"

Adrienne sadly smiled at Will. "Oh honey. It will take time. The trust will take the longest to get back, and it is something you will have to work on. Trust is a two-way street. You have to be willing to work at it. As the trust grows, the pain lessens. But it does take work and will not go away overnight."

Will looked down at Ari and said, "I just want our family back to the way it was before. But it is hard to see a point where I can feel comfortable again."

"You will get there, honey. You just need to give it time. Sonny said you two were going to counseling, right?"

Will nodded.

"Then you are taking the steps to get there. Don't give up. I know my son made a huge mistake, but he does love you. Remember that. Paul is not someone who can make my son happy in the long term."

Will smiled and thanked Adrienne. She got up and, after hugging Ari, headed out. Sonny had seen his mom talking to Will, and while he was curious, it seemed serious so he didn't interrupt. He hoped that his mom didn't say anything to ruin his time with Will and Ari. So when his mom left, he quickly walked over to Will and Ari to check in.

"Hey, is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I, um, had a good talk with your mom."

"Oh yeah?"

Will nodded. "Yeah. She gave me some good advice."

Sonny looked worried, but didn't want to push. But Will seemed to understand. "It's okay, actually. She just offered some advice and reminded me that, while things may seem hard, it will take time and get better."

Sonny smiled. "Okay. Well, can I get you two anything?"

"Actually, a glass of water would be great."

"Coming right up."

Sonny quickly walked back to get the water that Will asked for. It felt so good having them there, and it seemed that his mom was on their side of making their relationship work. He knew that she did not like Paul, and would root for Will over Paul, but it felt good to have another person on their side to give them advice when they needed it. They needed people to keep encouraging them, especially since it seemed there were people who almost seemed to be rooting against them.

Just as that thought ran through his head, Abigail walked into the club. Will didn't seem to notice her, but Sonny did. He figured she was looking for Ben, who was not working today, and hoped she would see he wasn't here and leave. She had already caused enough problems for him. Unfortunately, it didn't look like luck or fate was on his side. She immediately walked up to him.

"Ben isn't working tonight."

"I know, I am meeting him later. But I wanted to talk to you."

Sonny looked at her sharply. "I have nothing to say to you."

Abigail was taken aback. "Sonny…"

"What?"

"Why are you acting like this?"

"Are you kidding me? After the way you talked to Will earlier?"

"I admit that I shouldn't have said those things in front of Ari, but Sonny, you can't tell me you don't agree with me."

"Actually, yes I can tell you that. You had no right to say any of those things to Will. None at all."

"After what he did, yes I think I have a right to say those things."

"Okay, first of all, Will has apologized for what happened over and over again. You need to get over it. Either accept his apology and move on, or don't and move on. He never meant to hurt you, and he feels horrible over what happened. Second of all, you have no right, absolutely no right, to judge his parenting skills or our relationship. He is an amazing father to Ari and I am lucky to be married to him."

"Come on, Sonny. You can't tell me there haven't been times where you are exasperated with him, or times when he becomes 'Sami 2.0' that make you take a step back."

"Don't you ever, EVER, call him Sami 2.0 again. You hear me? And as for getting exasperated with him, there are times where I get frustrated sure, but there are times when he gets frustrated with me. We are human, it happens. In a real, true, mature relationship, you are bound to argue and get upset with the other person. That doesn't change the fact that I love him more than anything else."

Abigail is stunned at the viciousness of Sonny's words towards her. She really thought that, while he may not have appreciated the fact of what she said, he would realize that she was right. She never thought he would jump to Will's defense like this.

"And furthermore, how could you possibly think that I would side with you over him? He is my husband, the love of my life. No matter what is going on, I am on his side."

"So you think he was right to do what he did? I know you don't."

"It doesn't matter whether I think it was right or not. What matters is that I support him. Just like Ben has done with you. He didn't care about what you had done, he just supported you. Well I am doing the same."

"You have never defended him before. So I know you agree with me."

"That was wrong on my part. I never agreed with you, and I should have defended him to you and anyone else who attacked him. And to that point, right now, I am going to ask you to leave my club."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yes. If you cannot act respectfully towards Will and treat him as such, and apologize for what you said, then I don't want you here. This is my club, and my family is here. I don't want you around to ruin our evening."

"I can't believe you. I am your family too. Why are you acting this way, saying this to me?"

"Because Will and Ari are the family that matters to me. So, I'm sorry, but I choose them."

"Ari is my goddaughter."

"So?"

"So, I have ever right to see her."

"Since when? You are her godmother, not her mother. She has a mother, who she sees, and she has two fathers who are there for her."

"She hasn't seen her mother as much as she should have."

"I am not getting into this with you. It is none of your business. Ari is seeing her mother, and we are keeping to a schedule. But again, this does not concern you. Right now, with your attitude, I don't want you around my daughter."

Tears come to Abigail's eyes. She knows she was out of line to try and bring Ari into this, but she really thought that Sonny would back down. She doesn't understand how her cousin could completely turn against her when she has always been there for him.

"Now, I have asked you to leave. You are welcome to come in when Ben is here, but otherwise, unless your attitude changes about Will, leave us alone."

With that, Sonny walks away from her and back over to Will and Ari, carrying the glass of water Will asked for. He doesn't watch Abi leave, only caring about being with his family. Will saw the intense conversations between the two, but couldn't hear what was being said. He didn't want to go over and get into with Abigail again, especially with Ari there.

When Sonny sat down across from them in the booth, Will asked, "Is everything okay?"

Sonny nodded. "Everything is fine."

Will looked at Sonny skeptically.

Sonny sighed. "I told her that I didn't want her around us anymore if she couldn't treat you respectfully and kept acting the way she was."

Will was blown away. "Sonny, you don't need to push people away. I'm grateful, but she is your cousin, your family. I don't want to get in the way of that."

Sonny grabbed Will's hand. "You are my family, the family that matters. You and Ari are all I need. If someone can't accept that, then I don't need them."

Will's heart practically leaps out of his chest. But it all seems too good to be true. Could things really stay this good?

_Author's note- Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed. I met my goal of over 75 reviews and am blown away! Special thanks goes out to all the reviews for the ideas about Abigail, especially aphass. I used your idea a bit in this chapter. All of you who have been giving me ideas and sticking with the story, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. If I don't mention you right away, I apologize, but please know how much I appreciate all your support. Hope you enjoy!_


	18. Chapter 18

Sonny woke up the next morning, better than he was before but a little tired. He and Will had stayed late at the club with Ari, and came home and put Ari to bed. While they still slept in separate rooms, Will ended the night by hugging Sonny to thank him for defending him and giving them a good day, and kissed him softly goodnight. Sonny had hoped that the night could end with the two of them in bed together, but he knew that Will wasn't there yet. Sonny felt that maybe he even deserved it, as punishment for what he did. Logically, Sonny knew that since it had only been a few days since he broke his vows and his husband's heart, Will still needed time. But he just wanted his husband back.

Will woke up the next morning slightly grumpy. He hasn't slept well since that horrible night, and part of the problem was that he was so used to sleeping next to his husband. Even when he was away in L.A. he had a hard time getting a good night sleep. The only way he could sleep through the night was either when he was completely exhausted or he took over-the-counter sleep aids. He missed being close with Sonny, but he needed to keep this last barrier up. He needed to know this good could last.

After getting Ari fed and the two of them eating breakfast, Sonny and Will got Ari dressed and bundled into the car for the ride to visit Gabi. As Will got comfortable in the car, he suddenly felt really nervous to visit Gabi. While he knew that she didn't hold any resentment towards him now, he worried that it could happen in the future. He didn't want her to think that she had made the sacrifice that she did for nothing.

When Sonny got on the road, he looked over and noticed Will seemed really tense. "You okay?"

Will didn't say anything, just lost in his thoughts.

"Will."

Will finally looked over at Sonny. "What?"

"You okay?"

He shrugged. "Just tired, I guess."

"If you want to doze off for a bit, feel free. It will take about an hour to get there."

Will shook his head. "No, that's okay."

Sonny could tell something what bothering Will, he looked so tense and nervous.

"What's wrong? Talk to me."

Will took a deep breath and sighed. "I guess I am just nervous seeing Gabi."

"What? Why?" Sonny couldn't believe that Will would be nervous to see his friend. He knew that Will missed her, especially with everything going on. While he didn't always understand it, he knew Will and Gabi had a special bond together and relied on each other a lot. It bothered him in the beginning of their relationship, but as they stayed together, he came realized how important it was to have a friend like that.

Again, Will just shrugged and looked out the window. He felt weird trying to explain how he felt.

"Will, look at me." Sonny had a feeling about what was going on, after thinking over the conversations they had the day before. He hoped he was right and could try and help alleviate his husband's tension.

Will turned in his head back towards Sonny, shifting his body slightly.

"Everything is going to be okay. Gabi loves you, you are her best friend and the father of her daughter. She isn't angry at you for anything."

Will is surprised at Sonny's words. He is surprised that Sonny can read his mind or knows him so well.

Sonny smiles. "Yes, I do know you. I know you are worried about Gabi, but we are going to visit her now. She knows we are taking care of Ari, and that we are there for her. It's going to be okay."

Sonny reached out and squeezed Will's knee. He needed Will to understand that things were going to be okay and that he was here for him. Will smiled at the gesture and held his hand, squeezing it gently in thanks.

The rest of the ride was quiet, mostly, as the two did their best to keep Ari occupied and happy during the car ride. Ari loved to be out and about, riding in the car. After 45 minutes, they pulled into the parking lot for the prison where Gabi was residing. They went through the process of signing in and being cleared to go in before heading over to the visiting area.

When they arrived where Gabi was waiting for them, Ari immediately reached out for her mother. Gabi was beaming, so excited to see her little girl, as well as Will and Sonny. While she enjoyed and appreciated getting visits from everyone from Salem, seeing these three were the highlights of her time here. It made it that much easier to get through her sentence.

"Hi baby! I am so happy to see you."

Ari smiles at her mom and begins babbling, making Gabi, Will and Sonny laugh. The three sat down at the table in the visiting room, with Gabi placing Ari on the table to face her.

"How are you, baby girl? Are you being good for your daddies?"

"Of course she is. She is a perfect angel." Sonny said to Gabi, smiling. Gabi looked over and Will and Sonny, smiling and so happy to see them. However, she could immediately tell something was wrong. While Sonny looked okay, Will looked really tensed and stressed out. He was trying to hide it really well, but she could tell something was wrong.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

Both Sonny and Will looked at her surprised. "Yeah, everything is fine." Sonny told her.

"Will? You okay?"

"Of course, why?"

"You just look tense."

Will's eyes widened, embarrassed that Gabi could see he was stressed out. He tried to calm himself.

"Just been a rough couple of days with work. Nothing to worry about."

Sonny stayed silent, knowing that Will was down playing everything going on in his mind. He knew that Will was worried about what Gabi thought about him and, while he may want to talk to his friend about their situation, he knew Will didn't want to burden Gabi with their problems.

"You are working on a new article?"

"Yeah, it is just about ready. I have to submit it in today."

Sonny kept his face neutral, but inside was worried about the article. He wanted it to be done and over with, so that they could start moving past the issue of "Paul".

"What is it about?"

Since Sonny already knew who he was writing about, Will decided to tell Gabi as well. "It is just a profile piece on a baseball player."

"Oh really? That is exciting."

"Yeah, it has been interesting, to say the least."

Since Will didn't say anymore, Gabi decided to let it go and enjoy the visit, although she thought the last comment he made about the article being interesting was weird. They didn't get a lot of time, and she wanted to soak up every moment with her daughter. While it hurt to be away from her, Gabi felt deep down she had done the right thing by making sure Nick was completely out of their lives. She wished that it had not come to that, that there had been some other way to convince Nick to leave them alone, but he was never going to stop. A part of her regretted ever getting involved with Nick, but still, a part of her loved him. She was forever grateful that Will was Ari's father and that he and Sonny were there for Ari now. Even when Will took Ari to L.A., while she missed seeing Ari, she knew she couldn't hold it against Will for trying to take an opportunity. She was upset at first, but now it didn't matter. They were making it up to her by bringing Ari by whenever they could.

Thinking about everything that was going on around them, she knew something was wrong. She could always tell when Will was upset about something; he was never very good about hiding his feelings. She didn't want to bring down their visit, but she felt that they needed to break the tension that was surrounding them.

"Okay, something is going on. What's wrong?"

Sonny and Will looked at each other, but didn't say anything. They didn't know what to tell her, and they especially didn't want to tell her about what happened between them.

"Gabi, nothing is wrong. Don't worry." Sonny said to her. But Gabi didn't believe him. She could read the tension on Will's face, and knew something was wrong. Will couldn't look her in the eye and kept his face down.

"Will?"

Will finally looked up at her. He put a smile on his face, but said, "I just feel bad that I haven't been there for you like I should have."

Gabi smiled and reached out to Will and Sonny. "Oh, Will, you both _have_ been there for me. You are both amazing fathers to Ari, which is what matters." They all smiled at each other with tears in their eyes.

They spent the rest of the visit updating her on Ari and Rafe and everything going on in Salem, mostly trivial matters. When Gabi brought up that Abigail was going to come by soon, she noticed that both Will and Sonny stiffened but didn't say anything. She knew things were still tense between Will and Abi, so she didn't say anything further about it. While she knew that Abigail loved Arianna and was a great godmother to her, she also felt that Abigail could be judgmental and went too far at times in how she treated Will.

When their time was up, Will and Sonny slowly got up, lingering to give Gabi more time to say goodbye to Ari. Tears came to Gabi's eyes when Ari called her "Mama", and she had to pass her over to Sonny before she started bawling. She hugged both Sonny and Will tightly, telling them both she loved them. They watched as the guard took her back and then walked out to the car.

After they settled into the car and got on the road, Sonny turned to Will, who was driving, and said, "So the visit seemed to go well."

Will nodded, agreeing.

"She didn't seem to be upset with you."

Will turned quickly to look at Sonny. "It's not like she is going to say she is mad at me."

"I know, but I really don't think she is upset. She is worried that we are okay, because that is what matters to her. Us and Arianna Grace."

Will smiled and glanced at the rearview mirror to quickly see Ari. Deep down, he knew Gabi wouldn't hold anything against him, as long as Ari was safe, happy and healthy. That was what mattered.

As soon as they got back to the apartment, Will got Ari her lunch and then began to settle her down for a nap. He himself felt tired after their morning, but he needed to get the article done and sent off to Zoe. He sat down at the table in the living room and opened up his computer. He opened to the article and began reading it through, making minor changes every once in a while. Sonny watched Will work, but didn't say anything. Usually he loved to sit and watch Will work on his writing, but because of the topic of his article and the background behind it, it only served to cause him further stress.

Sonny occupied himself by cleaning up the apartment, putting away clothes and dishes, and looking over any bills or paperwork. They had to budget their money out carefully to be able to cover all their bills, but they were able to make due. Sonny hated to admit it, but if Will got a normal job with a steady paycheck, it would help them a lot. But he refused to voice that out loud. He wanted Will to continue his dream and follow his heart. He couldn't influence his husband any further. Besides, the added pressure might actually push Will further away from him.

After a while, Sonny's curiosity got the best of him and he needed to ask about the article.

"How's the article going?"

Will looked up at him carefully. "It is just about done. I am just looking it over to see any last minute changes. I need to give it in to Zoe today."

"Oh, okay."

Will studied Sonny for a moment, and then decided to give in. "If you want, you can read it."

"No, that's okay. I don't have to."

Will got up from his chair and sighed. "It's really okay, Sonny. I know you are curious, and if we really want to move past this, then we need to start being open again."

Sonny went over to the table and sat down. He went back to the top of the article and began reading. Will sat on the couch, trying not to watch him and look disinterested. There was a part of him that didn't care what people thought about the article, that he was going to submit it as it was and then walk away. But another part of him did care. That he wanted people to think he was good, but that he didn't need to write scandalous article to be successful.

Will was pulled from his thoughts when Sonny called out his name. He looked over and saw that Sonny had finished reading.

"What do you think?"

"It's really good, Will. I think it's amazing."

Will laughed. "I don't know if I would call it amazing. It's just an article."

Sonny sat down next to Will on the couch. "No, Will. It is amazing. Because you wrote it, I think it is amazing. It is meaningful and has impact. You really did a great job capturing who the person in the article is." He feared saying Paul's name would cause bitter emotions, and decided instead to make the article neutral and focus on Will's writing.

Will shyly asked, "Really?"

Sonny smiled. "Yes. The article is really good." He paused for a moment, and cautiously said, "I know that Paul gave you the okay to add in the part about him being gay, but I saw that you didn't add that in. I know you said that you didn't want people to think that you used it to only get your name in print, but if Paul is going to out himself, it shouldn't matter who the writer is."

Will swallowed and looked away. "I meant it when I said I didn't feel it was right for me to write that part in. I might have considered it if the reasoning behind it was that he did feel it was the right time or that he was ready to be out. But the fact is he only wants to do it so he has a chance with you. And it may be selfish, but I don't want to be a part of making that possible."

Sonny was shocked at Will's reasoning. He thought that Will didn't want to write it because it would give more people ammunition against him. To find out that the reason was he didn't want to give Paul an opening with Sonny was surprising and a little heartwarming.

Will continued. "Originally, I didn't want to do it because I knew that people would attack me for writing it, especially since it wouldn't have been Paul's idea to come out. But after he asked me to write it, I realized that I still didn't want to because I don't want to lose you to him." He turned back to Sonny. "Despite everything that has happened, and while I haven't forgiven you for cheating on me and I am still not sure what is going to happen, I am still so in love with you and don't want to lose you."

Sonny's heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. Hearing Will declaration of love and admit that he didn't want to lose him meant so much more than anything else in the world. It made everything they were going through worth it. He cupped Will's face with his hand, quietly said, "I am not going anywhere", and leaned in, kissing Will. He meant to only lightly kiss Will, to seal his declaration, but before long it turned passionate. The two sat next to each other, kissing like they used to, and their hands sliding up and down on each other.

Before things went too far, Will pulled back. He wasn't ready to move forward completely, and with a look Sonny understood perfectly. He knew Will had not forgiven him yet, and he had a lot of work to do to prove that Will could trust him again. But he knew that it would be worth it if in the end, he truly had his husband back.

"Baby steps." Will whispered, afraid to break the perfect moment. He looked back up at Sonny with tears in his eyes. "I want to fix this, but I am not there yet. I'm not ready for that just yet."

Sonny only smiled and kissed Will's forehead, pulling him in close. He repeated again, "Don't worry, I understand. No matter what, always remember, I'm not going anywhere. You are not going to lose me."

_Author's note- As many of you requested, Gabi does come in this story. If you couldn't tell, I am a bit of a sap for romance. Thank you to everyone for your advice and reviews, especially to Love DS for your help with the ending section of this chapter. Please continue to review!_


	19. Chapter 19

Will needed to go over to the offices for _Sonix_ and submit his article to Zoe. Sonny said he would stay at the apartment with Ari until Will got back. He needed to go over to the club later and check on things, but if there was a problem, he would find someone to watch Ari or take her with him. Will printed out a hard copy of the article, emailed a copy to himself, and put it on a zip drive. He always tried to have several copies of his articles, usually to ensure if something happened, he always had a back-up. In the back of his mind, he knew he also kept back-ups because of what happened with the article about his mom and EJ. Zoe had put in Abigail's name behind Will's back, and Will had to face the fall-out. He wanted proof of what he submitted if something different ended up in the magazine.

When Will got to _Sonix_'s offices, he immediately went to see Zoe. She was on the phone when he got there, but immediately waved him in to her office. He sat in the chair in front of her desk and waited for her to get off the phone. His nerves began to kick in as he waited. He knew that Zoe would probably be disappointed in the fact he wasn't bringing her a big scoop or a scandalous story after she had given him an extension and had waited so long for the story, but he had to keep reminding himself of the fact that he was doing the right thing. That he couldn't keep going on this path if he had any hope of salvaging his relationship with Sonny or being a role model to his daughter.

After 5 minutes, Zoe hung up the phone and looked towards Will. "What do you have for me?"

He handed over the hard copy of the article and said, "I also have this on a zip drive when you need it."

Zoe nodded and began reading the article. As she read, she began to realize that this was not the article she was expecting from her "star" writer. The article was good, no doubt, and would help to sell copies of the magazine, but it didn't have that extra something she was expecting. With all the secrecy surrounding this and the information she knew herself, she expected Will to be able to bring out Paul's secret and get her a truly juicy story.

"I have to say, Will, this was not what I was expecting."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Zoe sighed. "The article is good, no doubt about it. But I think you know what we were really looking for."

Will looked at her in confusion. "I don't know what you mean. What were you really looking for?"

"Come on, Will. You are a bright guy. You have to wonder the reason why we chose you to do the feature article on Paul Narita."

Will's nerves began to rise again. "I thought that Paul had requested me as the writer."

"Well, yes he did. But in all honesty, we could have talked him into speaking with any writer. We were willing to take a chance with you because of your personal connections. _Who you are_. We wanted you to be totally _available_ to him at all times, to get up close and personal with him. Now do you understand where I am going with this?"

Everything totally made sense to Will now. The reason for the secrecy and why he couldn't show he was married. They didn't want him to interview Paul because he was a good writer. They wanted him because he was _gay_ and they wanted him to get close to Paul. He couldn't believe he had been so naïve and stupid. He had been used to be able to sell magazine articles. Suddenly, the room became too small and he had trouble breathing.

Zoe could tell that Will finally had an idea of what she was talking about. She pushed the article back towards Will. "Now, we can print this article, and it will do okay, or you can go back and re-think what you want to add to the story. I'm guessing you understand now what we are looking for from you and what I expect you to do. You want to be on the top, you need to do what you need to do."

Will abruptly stood up and, stunning Zoe with his words, and said, "I am not changing anything in my article. If you don't like it, don't print it. But I am done with it."

He immediately rushed out of the office, needing to get away from Zoe and _Sonix_. How could he have been so stupid? They only wanted him because of his connections to hot stories and the fact that he would make Paul more comfortable about coming out because _Will_ was gay as well. When he got outside, he leaned up against the building and tried to breathe deeply to stop the flow of tears. He wiped his face and stalked off towards his car. This had completely settled it. He was done with _Sonix_.

As soon as Will walked through the door of the apartment, Sonny could immediately tell something was wrong. There was a sense of agony and agitation radiating from his husband.

"What happened?"

Will looked over at Sonny with tears in his eyes. Sonny became even more concerned.

"Will? What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Will took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. "You were right about Zoe."

Sonny looked at his husband confused. "What do you mean?"

"They were using me. The only reason they wanted me to interview Paul was because they thought I could make him more comfortable and use my personal background to uncover his secret."

Sonny's eyebrows raised in concern. "You mean…"

Will nodded. "Because I am gay, they thought I could somehow get close to Paul and he would reveal his secret to me."

Sonny was shocked. He couldn't believe that the magazine tried to use his husband to try and flirt with a man to get him to reveal he was gay. As he looked at Will, he could tell that not only was Will angry by this information, but he was devastated as well. He really thought that they had seen something in him, and that Zoe was giving him an amazing opportunity. It turns out all they wanted to do was use him. Sonny's anger rose within him. How dare they use his husband to further line their own pockets?

Sonny walked over to Will and immediately pulled him into a hug. "I'm so sorry, baby."

Will sniffled and shook his head. "Don't. You were right. I should have never trusted Zoe."

Sonny pulled back, wrapping his hands around Will's arms. "I didn't want to be right, Will. And you were doing what you thought was right. You were going after your dream. There is nothing wrong with that."

Will laughed sarcastically, shaking his head in defeat. "Yeah, and look where it got me. Half this town thinks that all I care about is getting my name in print, no matter what the cost."

Sonny cringed at that, knowing that at one time, _he_ had accused Will of that very same thing.

Will continued. "It just shows me that I should never have gotten into this. I'm done. I don't know whether they will end up printing the article or not, but I made it clear I was not going to add anything additional to the story."

He pulled away from Sonny and dropped down to the couch dejectedly. Sonny hated seeing Will look so down and out. He wished there was something he could do to make Will feel better. Unfortunately, he needed to go by the club and work on a few things to get ready for the weekend.

"Hey, I hate to leave you right now, but I need to go by the club and do some work. If you want, you can come by later and we can have some dinner. Or I can bring my work home and we can spend the rest of the evening in."

Will shrugged, not saying anything. Sonny sighed and gathered his stuff together. Before he left, he said to Will, "Everything is going to be okay. Don't worry." Will nodded as Sonny walked out the door.

As soon as Sonny left, Will heard Arianna waking up from her nap. He went to check on her, got her changed and up, and brought her out to the living room to play. He sighed as he watched his daughter, thinking over Sonny's words. He hoped that Sonny was right and everything would be okay. It had to be.

As Sonny walked over to the club, he thought back to how sad his husband looked. He hated that people had continued to use Will for their own needs, not thinking about how this could affect him. Will had such a big heart that he always tried to see the good in people. He always loved that about Will, how forgiving he was and how much he wanted to believe in the fact that there were good people out there. The problem was that a lot of other people saw this in Will, and instead of cherishing it or embracing it, they would use it to their advantage and manipulate him. The problem was that it looked like this time was the final straw. He didn't think Will would be able to bounce back as easily from this as he had before.

Before Sonny could get to the club, he was stopped in his tracks by his name being called. He turned around and hardened when he realized that it was Paul coming to talk to him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you. I need to talk to you."

Sonny took a step back. "No, we are done. I told you on the phone, I have nothing more to say to you."

Paul reached out for Sonny. "Please, Sonny. I know you don't mean that. We were so good together."

Sonny again pulled away. "I do mean it, Paul. I am married. I love my husband. No matter what you say to me or him is not going to change the fact that I choose him."

Paul snorted. "Will Horton? You can't possibly tell me you are happier with him than you are with me. Come on, Sonny. I know you. I know I can make you ten times happier than he ever could."

"Don't you ever compare yourself to Will Horton. You two are not even in the same league."

"Obviously."

Sonny started to become angry. "What I mean is Will is more of a man than you will ever be. I love him and, even though I hurt him, he still wants to be with me. He will never be a _second choice_ for me. He will always be my first choice."

"How can you even say that? You know how good we are together. Sonny, I can give you things beyond your wildest dreams. You know the reason you came with me that night. It was because there is something missing with Will, missing in your relationship. He can't fulfill you in every way that you need to be. And despite what you and _Will Horton_ say, even he knows I am the better man for you. I am not going to stop before I prove it, to you and everyone else."

Before Sonny could retort back, Paul grabbed him and kissed his hard. Sonny was stunned for a moment, before pushing Paul away. Unfortunately, that moment was all someone needed to take a quick picture of the two before rushing off. Sonny didn't even realize what had happened.

"What the hell, Paul! I told you, we are done. I don't want to see you anymore. Leave me alone!"

With that, Sonny angrily stalked into _Club TBD_. Paul stood there for a moment, smiling. It didn't matter what Sonny said. Paul got what he wanted. He turned around and walked back to his hotel, smiling and looking at his phone, figuring out his next move.

Sonny immediately rushed into his office and shut the door. He wiped at his mouth to get rid of all speck of Paul off of him. He can't believe that Paul even thinks he has a chance with Sonny; that Sonny would ever think about leaving Will. Logically he knows it is mostly his fault, that he gave Paul the impression that there was a chance for them when he slept with Paul and broke his vows. But he has made it clear since then that there was no chance for them. He meant it when he said that as long as his wedding ring was on his finger and Will's was on his, he wouldn't give up on his marriage. He refused to think that Paul could do anything to tear him away from Will. It wouldn't happen.

Sonny takes a deep breath and runs his fingers through his hair to calm himself down. '_Paul doesn't matter',_ he thinks to himself. '_All that matters is Will and I get our marriage back on track. Paul doesn't stand a chance.'_ He forces all thoughts of Paul from his mind and re-directs his thoughts to the club. He wanted to get through everything he needed to so he could make time to get home to Will.

After an hour of working in his office, he decided to go out and check on things at the bar. When he got out to the main area, he saw Chad standing at the bar. Anger began to fill up in him as the thought about how his supposed _best friend_ has essentially turned his back on him. He didn't know why Chad was here, but he realized he didn't care. While it may not be logical, he also slightly blamed Chad for the mess he was in with Will. If Chad had acted like his friend or cared about him, he wouldn't have been fighting with Will when Will tried to get the two of them on better terms. But that didn't matter now. If Chad didn't want to be his friend or partner anymore, then that was fine by him.

He walked behind the bar and began going through the receipts. He had hoped that Chad wouldn't try to speak to him, but he soon realized that his wish was futile, as Chad was a DiMera, and he would do whatever he wanted to do.

"Hey, Sonny. How are you?"

Sonny looked over at Chad. "What do you want?"

Chad pretended to look affronted. "Is that anyway to talk to your friend?"

Sonny sneered. "You haven't been my friend in a long time, Chad. What do you want?"

"Just wanted to check in and see how business was going."

Sonny snorted at that comment. "Like you actually care about how business is going."

"Of course I care. I helped you start this business. Just because I don't have time for this anymore, doesn't mean I don't care."

"Yes, you and I started this together. But for some reason, you turned your back on all this to become Co-CEO of DiMera Enterprises. I don't get it Chad. What changed?"

"I changed. I grew up and decided to take my rightful place in the company. I moved on to bigger and better things."

Sonny shook his head, not wanting to get into it with Chad anymore. "Fine, Chad. Business is good. If there is nothing else, I need to get back to work."

Chad smirked. "That's all. I will let you get back to work. It's good to see you, Sonny."

Sonny didn't reply and watched Chad walk out of the club. He got a weird feeling from Chad's visit, and wasn't quite sure what it meant. He thought back to his Uncle Victor's comments about getting involved with a DiMera, and wondered if things were going to start to take another bad turn. He hoped not, but maybe he needed to start getting prepared. The problem was, what was he getting prepared for?

He shook all those thoughts away and, seeing how everything at the club was under control, he decided to head back to the apartment. He wanted to spend the rest of the night with his husband and daughter. Those two were the only people that truly mattered and were important to him. Everything else could wait.


	20. Chapter 20

_Author's note- I am so sorry it has taken so long to post this. I was having some writer's block for this chapter, and then my computer crashed. But I hope this chapter makes up for the wait! Please review and let me know what you think! I also have to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed, I am blown away by the fact that I have over 100 reviews! You give me the inspiration to keep going with this story._

The next morning, Will and Sonny got Ari up, dressed and ready for the day. They had spent the night before quietly in the apartment, having a nice time just the three of them. Because of what had happened earlier in the day, Sonny didn't tell Will about his run-ins with Chad or Paul. He didn't want to upset his husband even further, and felt it didn't matter.

They decided to get an early lunch with Ari at the club so Sonny could check on things before dropping Ari off at the sitter's and then heading to their counseling appointment. While things seemed to be going okay between Will and Sonny, they were both nervous about going to this appointment. They feared that something would come up to break the fragile bond they were slowly trying to put back together, and if that happened, they didn't know if either would be able to come back from it.

Unable to sit around in the apartment, Sonny decided to suggest getting out before lunch.

"Let's go for a walk around. Get some fresh air."

Will looked at Sonny sideways, a little skeptical. "Doing what?"

Sonny shrugged. "It doesn't matter. All we are doing is sitting here and waiting for the clock to tick away."

Will sighed and looked away from Sonny. He knew Sonny hated being cooped up, but he couldn't imagine going out and talking to people. At the same time, it wasn't fair to punish Ari and force Sonny to stay in when they really didn't have to.

"Okay. You get her stuff together and I will get her bundled up. It's supposed to be cold out today."

Sonny smiled and eagerly started putting stuff together. The tension was still so thick in the apartment, and every time he thought about what to do, he ended up thinking about that night. He worried that Will had the same thoughts running through his head, and figured that if they were away from the apartment, maybe they could be a little relaxed before their appointment. He still kept waiting for Will to suddenly decide that their marriage wasn't worth trying to fix, and that he was done. He knew he couldn't let his fears run his life, but with everything so fragile at the moment, he was cautious that one false move could destroy everything.

When Ari was all bundled up to brave the cold and situated in her stroller, Will and Sonny began walking over towards the Town Square. They would need the car later, but the walk felt right and the two hoped would help to clear their minds. Will knew that Sonny felt like he was walking on eggshells around him, and while he wanted to be able to help calm his mind, he couldn't let himself let go of the sadness or anger that followed. There was a part of him that was angry at the fact that they needed to go to counseling, that this was even necessary to save their marriage. The "Sami Brady" part of him wanted Sonny to beg for forgiveness and have to work every day to have to show his commitment. But the other side of him, the larger part that usually won out and hated the "Sami Brady" side, reminded him that this mess was as much his fault as it Sonny's. While he had not cheated, his actions and the way he had put his career first had pushed Sonny away and into someone else's arms. He shook his head as if to push all these negative thoughts away and forced himself to concentrate on what was going on in the present. He knew eventually he and Sonny would have to confront his anger over what Sonny did and said, but for now he promised himself that he would focus on the present and enjoy the moment.

Unfortunately, fate did not seem to want to let them, because as soon as they got to Horton Town Square, Will immediately saw Paul sitting at a table drinking coffee. Sonny didn't notice him right away, but when Will stopped and stiffened, Sonny realized something was wrong. He started to question Will, but when he followed his gaze and saw Paul, he understood. When Paul turned in his seat and smirked at them, Sonny knew he needed to get Will away from there.

But Will didn't want to leave. He wasn't the one who did anything wrong, so he shouldn't have to run away. He pushed on, heading towards _TBD_. He refused to look in Paul's direction, and Sonny just followed silently next to him. Paul smirked again, looking away from them as they continued through the square. To him, it didn't matter what was happening. He knew that Sonny still loved him and wanted to be with him. He was just standing by his husband because he was a loyal man and felt obligated to stay with Will. He had noticed the fact that Will was pushing a stroller, but didn't really think too much about it. The kid couldn't be Will and Sonny's. So whoever the kid was, they didn't matter. All he needed to do was show Sonny how good they could be together again, to remind him of the passion between them. Sonny would see that he was better off with him rather than Will Horton. He smiled, got out his phone, and went forward with the next part of his plan.

As soon as Will and Sonny approached the club, Will let out the breath he had been holding in, letting some of the tension leave his body. He hated that one man was able to make him feel so uncomfortable. It was like with Nick all over again.

Before Sonny opened the doors, he turned to Will and said, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Will knew what he was asking about, but decided to play dumb. "What do you mean?"

Sonny sighed. "Will."

Will took a deep breath and replied, "Not really. I just don't like seeing him around. I don't understand why he is still here."

"I don't know, but he doesn't matter to me. We need to remember, what is important is that we work on us."

Will again had a sarcastic comment in his head that he wanted to say about how it wasn't his fault that they were broken or in this situation, but he stopped himself. He kept reminding himself that Sonny was right, what was important was that now they were trying to fix their relationship and mend what had been broken by the two of them.

They walked into the club and Will pushed Ari's stroller over to a table close to the bar so Sonny could get things ready for the day. Will kept Ari entertained while Sonny set up at the bar and went over the books from the previous night. Every once in a while, Sonny would look over at the two of them and smile, remembering times in the past when they would do this. He thought back to two days ago when they agreed to start making sure they spent time like this every week, and he promised himself that they would keep to that deal. This was too important.

The three of them had lunch together at the club. Will and Ari stayed at the same table even as people came in and out of the club. Sonny made sure T and Ben were set for the day, and sat with Will and Ari while they all ate. While they were still nervous for their appointment, it seemed the comfort of the club brought back good memories and the two were able to relax and laugh together, enjoying their time. Once they finished with their lunch, however, the nerves crept back in. They headed out, Sonny telling Ben and T he would be back much later to check in with them, and started off towards the baby-sitter's.

After dropping Ari off and making sure everything was okay for her, Will and Sonny headed over to their car. Dr. Greenberg's office was a 20 minute drive from where they were, and they needed to make sure they got there early enough. As Sonny drove, he could see the tension in Will's body and his leg was bouncing up and down, as if to get rid of nervous energy. He wanted to be able to tell Will something that would calm him down, but unfortunately he knew nothing would. He just hoped that the session proved to be enlightening.

They got to Dr. Greenberg's office, signed in and filled out the preliminary paperwork given to them by the receptionist. Most of the questions were standard questions, but there were a few that the boys had a hard time filling out. The last question of why they were seeking marriage counseling took longer than it probably needed to, but both had a hard time writing down how their marriage had gotten off track.

After a few moments, the receptionist brought them into a small room with a couch towards one end and a desk in the middle. A tall, brown haired woman stood up and introduced herself as Dr. Greenberg, inviting both Will and Sonny to have a seat on the couch. They shook her hand and sat down towards the middle of the couch, not quite touching but close enough. Dr. Greenberg sat at her desk and brought out her notepad.

"So, welcome. Before we begin, I just wanted to let you know that I do tape my sessions. I understand not everyone will be comfortable with that, but please now that nothing that is said in this room will leave this room. I use the recorder for my own notes. Is that okay with you two?"

Will and Sonny nodded. As long as no one else found out about what was going on, then they didn't mind her recording the session.

"Excellent. Now to begin, why don't you two tell me a bit about yourselves."

Will and Sonny looked at each other, and Sonny decided to go first. "My name is Sonny Kiriakis, and this is my husband Will. We, um, live in Salem, with our daughter Arianna. I own a business, a club called _Club TBD_."

Dr. Greenberg smiled and nodded towards Will.

Will sighed. "Um, like Sonny said, we live in Salem. We have a one year old daughter, who is biologically mine. Right now, um, I am a writer, but am going to probably be looking for another job."

"Why is that, if you don't mind me asking?"

Will hesitated, not sure why it mattered at the moment. He finally just said, "I want to explore all my options and job prospects."

Dr. Greenberg nodded, noting that Will seemed hesitant and that the job situation may be something they wish to explore later. She had a feeling it may be hard to pull information out of the two of them.

"Okay, good. Now I understand that you two have been married for over eight months now, correct?"

The boys nodded.

"So before we get into why you are here, I would like to find out a little about your relationship. When and how did you guys meet, how long have you been together, those sorts of things."

The guys nodded, and Sonny began again, smiling about the beginning of their relationship. "We actually met a few years ago. We share a cousin through marriage, and she introduced us. We became friends and started hanging out."

Will cut in. "At the time, I wasn't out, and was dating my friend Gabi."

Sonny continued. "I was attracted to him then, but since he wasn't out I never pursued it. We just became really good friends, and I became friends with a lot of his friends."

Dr. Greenberg nodded and then asked, "Well, eventually it progressed further than friendship.

They nodded, and Will began to talk. "My girlfriend at the time began questioning why I was so uncomfortable being close with her, not being physical with her. She broke up with me, and I soon began to confront the fact that I wasn't attracted to women, but men. Both my grandmother and Sonny began asking me why I was acting so weird, I think they knew what was going on, and it finally came to a head when Sonny saw me kissing a friend of his, Neil. I freaked out and ran, but eventually came to grips with the fact that I am gay."

"Okay. Is that when you got together?"

Will laughed. "Um, no actually. I mean Sonny and I were close then, he was one of the first people I actually came out to, but I wasn't in the right place to be dating anyone. A lot of things were going on at the time in my life, and I was still trying to come to terms with the fact that I was gay."

Sonny chimed in. "I was attracted to him, but I knew he wasn't ready for that. It was worth it for me to just be friends with him."

Will smiled and blushed at that comment. He thought back to how close he and Sonny were, and how much he relied on Sonny back then.

"So when did that change?"

Sonny said, "There was an explosion in Salem in 2012, and I couldn't get a hold of Will afterwards. I was searching for him, and when I found him, I was so relieved that I kissed him."

Will decided to add in, "I was completely surprised. I pushed him away, and we ended up fighting. I was in a bad place at that moment, and unfortunately reacted badly. We ended up spending several weeks avoiding each other, but soon were drawn back together. I admitted I had feelings for him too, and we ended up going out."

Dr. Greenberg smiled. "How was your relationship?"

Will and Sonny smiled. "In the beginning, it was amazing. I was really nervous, and had no idea what I was doing. But Sonny made me feel so comfortable, and to me that was amazing. I didn't have to try with him. It seemed to outsiders that things progressed with us rather quickly, but to be honest, we were already so close that it seemed natural."

Sonny looked over at Will, still smiling. "I was already falling in love with him, and once we were together, everything seemed to just fall into place. We just fit, I don't know how else to describe it."

"That sounds really good."

Will looked over at Sonny and smiled back at him. He thought back to when they were first together, and how good everything just felt. Sometimes he wished they could just go back to that time.

"So, how long were you two together before you got engaged?"

Will answered. "A little over a year. We hit a rough patch a couple of months into our relationship, but thankfully we worked it out. I had slept with my ex-girlfriend before we got together, and she ended up pregnant. By the time we found out, she was with someone else and I was with Sonny. We decided to lie and say it was someone else's baby. But the truth was revealed, and Sonny found out I had lied. Eventually we were able to get through it and find our way back to each other."

Sonny continued. "I was hurt he lied, but eventually I realized I was still in love with him and wanted to be with him. A lot of other things happened, but eventually I helped Gabi give birth to their baby, our daughter Ari. She ended things with the guy she was with, and ended up living with Will and me. Our relationship just continued to grow. Last January, I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Will, and I proposed to him."

"I was worried that it wasn't the right time, so I said no at first. But then my grandmother Marlena made me see that it may never feel like the right time, and if I felt that Sonny was the one, then nothing should stand in my way. So on Valentine's Day, I surprised Sonny and told him I would accept his proposal if he still wanted to marry me."

Dr. Greenberg took down notes as they talked, and smiled at the end. "It sounds beautiful. Now unfortunately is where we get to the hard part. It sounds like you two have had a great relationship, so I have to wonder why you are looking to marriage counseling."

Both Will and Sonny hesitated in answering her, so she continued. "In reading your paperwork, you indicated that the past six months have been hard on your relationship. Did something happen?"

Will decided to add in. "It wasn't so much that something happened, but that I think we became comfortable in our relationship. A work opportunity came up for me, and I jumped ahead and took it, excited about it. But it put a big strain on our relationship."

Sonny said, "We began to drift apart, and I found out my ex came to town. He and I broke up years ago, mostly because he wouldn't come out to his family or friends. Will and I haven't been communicating lately, and last week I did something horrible."

He didn't want to admit to what he did, but he knew they needed to face it. "Will and I got into a fight after I saw him talking to someone I used to consider a friend. I ended up at a bar, drinking, and my ex showed up. We talked for a while, and I ended up back at his hotel room." He paused, not wanting to actually say what happened.

But Dr. Greenberg understood. "Okay. I'm assuming that since this only happened a short time ago that you immediately told Will."

Will snorted, unable to stay silent. He sarcastically said, "Oh yeah, he came clean about it."

Dr. Greenberg looked confused. Sonny held back, knowing that Will was still angry and needed to let it out.

Will took a deep breath and continued. "He came back to the apartment, drunk, and told me what happened. He admitted to sleeping with his ex, and told me he wanted to be with his ex. That he regretted ever marrying me."

The fight and those words that were said haunted both Will and Sonny, and the hurt that was there was still very much evident. Dr. Greenberg's eyes raised, and she set aside her notes to look at her patients. She could tell that both had been very hurt by this incident, one more than the other, and while they still seemed very much in love, they also looked very lost in their problems. Sonny's head was hung down in shame, while Will looked to be fighting off tears and trying to not think about anything.

She knew she had her work cut out for her. These two had a lot of work to do to make their marriage work, and they were so young. But the thing that was still very obvious to her was how much they loved each other. It shocked her about the fact that this incident had happened so recently and that they were here to try and fix their marriage. Most couples couldn't speak to each other for a while if something like this happened.

"If you don't mind me asking, what has happened since that day?"

Will spoke first. "I stayed away the next day. I took our daughter to my dad's, and tried to think about what we needed to do. But after one day, I decided that I needed to go back and see Sonny. It wasn't fair to keep Ari away from her other dad, and we needed to decide what we were going to do."

Sonny added in, "I didn't remember what happened when I first woke up the next day, since I had been drinking. I found Will and Ari gone, and he had left a note. When the memories came back, I was so devastated at how I acted and immediately tried to call Will to get him to come back home."

Dr. Greenberg nodded, but then remembered something. "I don't mean to backtrack, but you keep talking about your daughter and you two taking care of her. Where is her mother?"

Will couldn't speak, so Sonny took a deep breath and said, "Gabi had gotten involved with the wrong guy, and he ended up trying to force Gabi to take Ari away from us. She ended up killing him to protect Ari and is in jail for it now."

Dr. Greenberg's eyes opened wide and she covered her mouth in shock. "Oh wow."

Will chimed in, needing to defend his friend. "She is a good person. She got backed into a bad situation and felt like she had no way out. She made a huge sacrifice so Ari and the rest of us would be safe."

Sonny reached over to grab Will's hand. "I don't think she meant anything by that. She isn't judging Gabi."

"He is right, Will. I'm sorry if you felt I was judging your friend. I have no idea what was going on in that situation. Please know that no matter what is said in here, I am not judging either one of you. This is a safe environment. You two are here because I believe you want to fix your marriage. You have been through a lot in a short amount of time, and it will be difficult to get through. But the one thing I can tell from speaking with the two of you is that you both still love each other very much. This process will be difficult, and at times very painful. But it is important to get through."

The boys nodded, both already emotionally spent but still having time left for their appointment.

"So, Will, are you still staying with your father?"

Will shook his head. "I brought Ari back to see Sonny and decided to stay. I grew up in a broken home and I didn't want Ari to have to grow up being shuffled back and forth."

Dr. Greenberg grew concerned at this and looked seriously at Will. "I have to ask. Are you only willing to work on this for Ari's sake?"

Will looked at her incredulously. "No! I love Sonny, I want to fix our marriage."

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure. Many couples do try to stay together for their kids' sake, but it never works out. You both need to be committed to making this work."

Both of them nodded, stating that they were. But Will had his doubts about Sonny. His fears crept back in again, wondering if Sonny was only trying to make this work because he felt obligated, not because he wanted to be with Will.

"Will? You look upset, are you okay?"

Will nodded, not wanting to say anything to start off a fight. He wanted to keep his thoughts to himself and not give in to it.

"Will? Whatever is bothering you, now is a good time to say it. If you need to say something to me or Sonny, this is the time."

Sonny held Will's hand and squeezed, trying to encourage him to talk. Will liked to shut himself off whenever something was bothering him, but then it would come bursting out. This was one of the things that they used to be really good at, and they seemed to have lost it along the way.

Will took a deep breath and said, "During the fight, Sonny told me that he wished he was still with his ex, Paul. That he regretted ever marrying me."

"Will, I told you, I didn't mean it."

"That is just it, Sonny. I think, even if it was just for that moment, you did mean it. As much as it kills me to think about or say it, we need to face the fact that you have feelings for someone else."

Sonny cut back in. "I love you. Whatever feelings I have for him, they don't compare to the feelings I have for you. I love you and only want to be with you."

Despite his declaration of love, there was only one thing that Will could focus in on. "Feelings you _have_ for him? So you do still have feelings for him."

"No! I just mean that whatever I feel or felt for him or about him doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters, Sonny. It matters to me."

Will couldn't take it anymore. He needed to get out of the room before he exploded. He got up and headed for the door. Sonny grabbed his arm and pulled him back, begging him to stay. But Will couldn't.

"Sonny, you don't get it. You want to know what is really bothering me. It's not the cheating or what you said to me. The part that kills me is that the one man I thought I would spend the rest of my life with, the one who has my whole heart, _you_, has revealed that a man has a part of your heart. No matter how big a piece it is, it is still a part of you. I can't have just a part of you. I want all or nothing."

With that, Will pulled his arm away and walked out the door, ignoring Dr. Greenberg's voice calling out to him to wait.


	21. Chapter 21

Sonny stood in the room, stunned. He didn't know what to do or say. A part of him wanted to scream and bang his head against the wall. What more did Will want from him? He was here, trying to fight for their marriage, wasn't that good enough? Was this fight a losing battle?

He looked over at Dr. Greenberg who was looking out the door to see where Will ran off to. He took a deep breath and said, "I guess this was a waste. Sorry to bother you."

Dr. Greenberg looked back over at Sonny. She grabbed her chair and sat down in front of him. "Sonny, do you really believe that this is a waste? You both have a lot of work to do, and you are dealing with a lot of issues, but isn't it worth it?"

"Yes, but how can I get Will to understand that? I hurt him so much, obviously, but I am trying to show him how much I love him and want to only be with him."

"You have to keep trying. It does take two people to make a marriage work, and while Will is hurting, he did come here. That tells me he wants to make this work. There is a saying 'Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain'*. This usually applies to life and only waiting for the good times to happen. I think this applies to marriage as well. You need to learn how to dance in the rain, and get through the hard times together, to be able to really appreciate the good times."

"I'm sure you have realized that marriage is hard. You have been through a lot it seems together already, and have only been married a short time. When a spouse cheats, it shatters the trust between the two. But just as you built that trust up while you were dating, you can rebuild that trust again. It takes time and effort, but it can be done."

She paused to let Sonny take everything in, and then continues, "You and Will do love each other, and I believe that. If both of you are committed, you can get through this. Now, go find your husband. I will see you two next week, same time. If you want to schedule individual sessions, give my office a call."

Sonny thanked her and got up to chase after Will. He worried about his state of mind and hoped Will did not leave, not just because Will was so upset, but also as they only came in one car. Dr. Greenberg's office was outside of Salem, and there were not too many ways to get home. When he got outside the building and walked towards where they parked their car, he was happy to see Will leaning up against the car. He could see the tension and anxiety radiating off of Will's body, and he wished there was something he could say to make everything better.

"Will."

Will looked up at Sonny, but then looked down just as quickly. They both stayed silent for a moment, not sure what to say to each other. Counseling had taken a lot out of both of them, and neither wanted to fight anymore.

"I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry about?"

"I'm sorry I left. I just couldn't sit in there any longer."

"It's okay, I understand. I would have done the same thing. But Will, you have to believe me when I say that I don't have any feelings of love or anything close to that for Paul. I don't want to be with Paul. I want to be with you."

"Then why did you say it that night? I get it, you were drunk and angry. But in my experience, when you are in that state, things you say have some truth to them."

Sonny sighed and ran his hands through his hair. He knew he didn't want to fight with Will, but it frustrated him that Will didn't seem to understand that he was just lashing out. He finally just decides to be honest.

"I was angry that night. You and I haven't been talking like we used to. Every time we tried, it seemed like we only ended up in a fight. The day was just the end of my rope. I couldn't take the stress anymore. And I got scared. I felt like I was losing you; you were slipping away from me every day, and I was scared. I was insecure. But it is no excuse. I should have kept trying."

"I wish you had."

Sonny took a step forward and grabbed on to Will's hands.

"I will gladly keep telling you this every day if I have to. I am so sorry, and I love you, _only you_. You are my other half. I would rather fight with you every day, because it meant I got you in the end, then spend any time with anyone else."

Will began to shake, tears coming to his eyes. He wanted so badly to believe Sonny. "Why didn't you just talk to me? I tried to talk to you that day."

"I know, but by that point I was just so angry. I saw you talking to Chad, and it felt like one more betrayal. I just wanted to hurt you, and it was so wrong. I wish I had just gone home that day. I would re-do so many things, you have to believe me."

Sonny began to cry. "The second club was failing, and I just felt you slipping away. Nothing I seemed to do was right. I just wanted to feel something other than anger and frustration. I'm human, Will. I'm not perfect. I love that you think I am, but I'm not. I got insecure, and instead of doing the mature thing and dealing with it, I did something that hurt the one other person besides Ari who matters most to me in this world. I would do just about anything to take it back."

Sonny took a deep breath to calm himself and, with tears in his eyes, continued. "You said that you couldn't share my heart with Paul. You don't. The only other person who you share my heart with is Ari. I have a past, just like you do. I can't change that, and I don't want to. Because it brought me to you."

Will took a deep breath and decided to tell Sonny what he really feared. "I don't want you to stay with me because you feel obligated or because of Ari. Trust me, I know what others have said. How you need to make sure our marriage works. But I can't be an obligation. I want you to stay with me because you really want to."

"Will, there is no choice. I don't know how to make you believe that. Yes, I love Ari and would do anything for her. But she isn't the reason why I want to be with you. I want to be with you because I can't picture a life without you in it. I don't want it. I want you, the good, the bad, and all in between. I know you are not perfect. But you _are_ perfect for me. You make me whole."

With that, Sonny pulled Will in close to him, cradling his head in his hands and curling him against his body. They hugged, and Sonny hoped that Will understood everything he was saying. They stood there for several moments, not realizing they were being watched by Dr. Greenberg. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but should could tell by their body language it was intense. She had hope that the two could work through their issues, if they committed to it and communicated. She had her work cut out for her, but for some reason, she really wanted to help these two fix their marriage.

After the hug, Will and Sonny got into the car and drove to pick up Ari. They then went back to the apartment. As Will brought Ari in and put her down for a nap, Sonny called the club. He checked in with T, who said that they had everything under control, and it wasn't necessary for Sonny to come in. Sonny was grateful, as he was exhausted after the counseling session. When Will came out of Ari's room, Sonny could see that he felt the same as Sonny. They both collapsed onto the couch and sighed. It was the mid-afternoon, but they both had been through the wringer and were exhausted, physically and emotionally.

They both thought over the counseling session, and their own conversation afterwards. Everything was catching up to them. Not just the past week, but the past few months, and all the things they both had been through. Will leaned back against the couch and rested his head against the edge, closing his eyes and trying to clear his head. It wasn't a comfortable position at all, but a part of him didn't care. He was so tired, and he needed a break.

Sonny nudged Will. "Go lie down. Take a nap."

Will shook his head, claiming he was fine, even though it was a lie.

"Will, go lie down. I will be here if something happens. It's okay."

Will relented, and went back into Ari's room to take a nap. Sonny stayed out on the couch, thinking over how the day has gone so far. It was obvious that they still had so much to work through, but he had to keep hoping. They couldn't give up. He didn't care what anyone else said. He and Will were meant to be together. He had known it since the first moment he laid eyes on Will. Will would always own his heart and soul.

_Meanwhile…_

Paul walked into his hotel room, looking at the picture in his hand. The photographer had gotten a nice shot of him kissing Sonny. While you couldn't exactly see him, you could see enough to infer it was Paul, and Sonny's face was obvious. He ran his finger across the picture, and then across his lips. He could still taste Sonny against him. His body ached at how much he missed being with Sonny, and how much he loved Sonny.

Some people may call him a stalker, but he didn't care. He wasn't doing anything wrong. He wasn't invading anyone's life or forcing himself on someone. He loved Sonny, and knew that Sonny still loved him. His career had taken over his life before, but now that was all about to change. With his injury, he could no longer play like he used to. It killed him not to be able to play, but the silver lining was that now he had to opportunity to fix his past mistake. He never should have let Sonny go before. Sonny had been committed to him, had loved him and wanted to marry him. Now, he and Sonny would get their chance to be together. Nothing could stop them.

He got on his phone and called up a person on his phone list. "Hey. You want the real major story about me? Come see me. I will give you the scoop, but only you. No one else. I want my true story to be heard." There was a pause, and then, "Trust me. You won't regret it. This is what you have been waiting for."

It was time. Nothing could stop him now.

_Author's note- Just a short update. Things are going to start picking up from here, possibly fast forwarding a bit. Drama is approaching. Please review!_

_*-The quote "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass..." is a quote from Vivian Greene. I do not own it, but I thought it worked in this instance._


	22. Chapter 22

_Author's note- I should have probably said this disclaimer from the beginning, but I do not own the characters here. I also used the title for the article for Paul the show came up with, so that was not mine either. Get ready for the drama to begin!_

Waking up the next morning, Will already knew it was going to be a bad day. It had been exactly one week since Sonny had cheated on him and they had the horrible fight that still haunted Will. He really wanted to be able to get past it all, and let go of that day. But he didn't know how. It felt like every day he and Sonny would take a step or two forward, then take those steps back.

He thought back to the counseling session and how they recapped their relationship. Unfortunately, they were not able to really get into the problems of their marriage, and it ended on a sour note. Sonny said that they were scheduled to meet for another joint session next week, but Will thought that maybe he could try and schedule a session for him individually. Maybe being able to discuss what is bothering Will with a neutral third party, without Sonny being there, could help him to learn to let go of his pain and anger. He really wants to let it go. He wants to get to a point where he can look at Sonny and not feel that pained anger he has felt all week. He wants to be able to walk away from Sonny and not wonder what Sonny is doing or thinking. He wants to get back to the point they were at right after their wedding.

He looks at the ring on his finger, his wedding ring. Besides that one moment in the park after talking to Paul, he has not taken off his ring. That has to mean something, right? That because he won't take the ring off, his marriage isn't over. He thought back to what Sonny said.

_Flashback_

_"This ring belongs here. Just like my ring belongs on my finger. As long as this ring is on my finger, we still have a chance."_

_He held up his left hand, showing off his ring._

_"This ring is not going anywhere. Neither am I."_

_End Flashback_

Did they still have a chance? Having the wedding ring certainly didn't keep Sonny from cheating. So why did it seem so important that they not take the rings off? Was there some chance that having the ring means that their marriage wasn't failing completely? Or were they just deluding themselves?

He decided to call Dr. Greenberg's office and see if she had any availability for him to have an individual session with her before his joint session with Sonny. When he spoke to the receptionist, she told him that Dr. Greenberg actually had an opening that day, so he decided to take it. If Sonny was at work, he would drop Ari off at the baby-sitter's or with his Grandma Marlena, or even with Adrienne. It surprised him at times how close he had become to Adrienne, and how much she supported his relationship with Sonny now.

When Will brought Ari out of the bedroom, he noticed that Sonny was nowhere to be found. He stopped a note on the table, but was hesitant to pick it up and read it. Maybe because of what day it was, he felt really on edge about everything. After a few moments of staring, he finally convinced himself to read it. _'Needed to go to the club for a while. Will be back for dinner. Love, Sonny.'_ Will ran his thumb over the words, _Love, Sonny_. Before, they would seem like simple words. Today, it seemed to have so much more meaning behind it.

He spent a quiet morning with Ari before feeding her lunch and getting her ready to head out. He was grateful that Sonny had left the car for him, and had let him know when he texted Sonny to tell him where he was going. He wasn't sure he really needed to, since Sonny said he would be at work all day, but he felt like if he didn't then it would be like he was sneaking around or avoiding Sonny.

After dropping Ari off with the baby-sitter, he drove the 20 minutes out to Dr. Greenberg's office.

"Welcome back, Will", she greeted him as he went into her office.

"Thanks."

"How are you, today?"

Will shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I have to admit, I was surprised but glad to hear that you called to make an appointment. I was hoping to talk to you more about what is going through your mind."

Will nodded.

Dr. Greenberg paused to study Will for a moment. He looked incredibly tense and sad. "Do you want to tell me what you are thinking about?"

Will took a deep breath and began. "Today marks one week since Sonny cheated on me."

"Oh." She could only imagine how he felt, and could see the swirl of emotions running through him.

"I keep feeling a jockeying of emotions. A part of me feels angry, like how could he do this? How could he promise to love me forever and say how he only wants to be with me, then turn around and sleep with someone else after only eight months of marriage? I want to yell and scream at him, and tell him I never want to see him again. But the larger part of me just feels pain. I know things have been rough between us lately, but I never thought in a million years that he would do this. That he would take the love he promised to only give me, and give it to someone else. I don't know what to do."

Dr. Greenberg wrote down some notes, and then looked at Will. "All of those emotions are very normal. It is natural to feel pain and anger at someone who broke our trust and hurt us so much."

Will sighs. "The thing is that a part of me expected this to happen. Growing up, I never had a stable family. Any time something good happened in my life, eventually it went away. I was bounced back and forth between my parents, and it always seemed like a contest between the two of them. Who Could Win Will this Week? Before Sonny, even though I thought about marriage and wanted it, I never actually believed it would happen."

"But it did. You and Sonny fell in love and got married."

"It wasn't really that simple, but yes, we did. Everything seemed so perfect. Sonny always made me feel like no matter what else was going on in my life, as long as he was there, things were going to be okay. Without him, I feel like I am walking around in a fog."

"So what happened?"

Will chuckled painfully. "Life, I guess. What usually happens when I get comfortable and happy. Things fall apart. I got a job working for a magazine, and my first article totally blew up in my face. I ended up being so focused on my career and wanting to be successful that I pushed Sonny off to the side."

"So you think this is your fault?"

Will shrugged. "I guess so."

"Why?"

"Sonny obviously wasn't or isn't happy with me. He went looking for someone else. He told me after it happened that he wished he never met me."

Tears came to Will's eyes, and he took a deep breath to try and continue. "All throughout most of our relationship, people have told Sonny that I wasn't good enough for him or that he should leave me. When the truth about Ari, our daughter, came out, his mom tried everything to make sure Sonny stayed away from me."

"That must have been hard to hear."

Will shrugged. "I've heard it most of my life. It comes from people having a problem with who my parents are. Sami Brady and Lucas Horton are not the most stable people in the world, especially my mom. And everyone basically assumes I am going to be just life her."

"Do you think that is true?"

Will didn't answer, but Dr. Greenberg could tell from his silence that he did believe it.

Will instead went back to talking about that night. "The thing is, no matter who was saying these things about me, Sonny always defended me. He always said how none of the things people, especially his mom, said were true. But that night, after he cheated, he said all of it. How I was a consolation prize, how hard I make his life, how he wished he never met me, and how he" he paused, chocked up at having to admit this last part, "still loves Paul and wished he was with him instead of me."

He looked at Dr. Greenberg with tears running down his face. "How am I supposed to get past that?"

Dr. Greenberg sighed and handed Will some tissues. She hurt for this young man sitting in front of her, having to deal with a lot and feeling so lost, because the one thing he counted on being there for him turned their back on him, even for just a day. It was very apparent that Will had a lot of self-esteem issues, and while he may try to project this confidence on the outside, he was very insecure inside.

She reached over and placed her hand on his arm. "Will, do you really think that Sonny is in love with someone else? That he would marry you if he didn't truly want to? Sonny doesn't seem like the type to do that."

Will shook his head. "No, but if he truly wanted to be with me, then why would he go back to his ex? From what I understand, they were very much in love and only didn't work out because Paul wouldn't come out of the closet. He wanted to marry Paul."

"But he didn't. He married you. Despite what happened, you and Sonny have a chance to work this out. It is work, but you can if you communicate and are honest with each other."

"We used to be really good at that, communication and honesty. People used to say how jealous they were they things seemed so easy for us, and the fact was it felt easy at times. Sonny is an easy person to love, and he is such a good person. He is always willing to give people second and third chances, and is there for whoever needs him."

"Why did you stop communicating?"

Will shrugged, not really sure how to explain.

Dr. Greenberg continued. "You said in the past that Sonny had forgiven you for your mistakes. Do you think that maybe it is your turn to forgive Sonny? Maybe you can give him a second chance to make your marriage work."

Dr. Greenberg sits back and lets everything she has said sink in with Will. She can tell that he does want to make his marriage work, but is holding back out of fear and pain. He was obviously deeply hurt by this betrayal, and it is made worse by the fact that, due to his upbringing, he has never had something stable in his life.

She looked at her clock and saw the time. "Our time is just about up, but I really would like you to think about what I said. You and Sonny seem to deeply love each other and have a special connection. Don't lose faith in that just yet. There is a quote from Vivian Greene that I told Sonny as well. _'_Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain'. Right now, you are in the middle of your storm. Do you run away and avoid it, or do you try to embrace it to be able to appreciate the good times even more. Sometimes a little struggle teaches us to see what is more important."

Will nodded, agreeing to think about what she said, and thanked her again for seeing him. He made another appointment for himself for the following week, realizing this might be really good for him. While he still wasn't confident about his and Sonny's relationship, it felt good to let some of the pain out and talk about some of the things bothering him. It didn't fix anything, but it gave him a chance to let some things off his chest.

Dr. Greenberg also gave him some things to think about. Sonny had forgiven him in the past. Sonny was always giving out second chances to people who didn't always deserve it. Maybe Will needed to do the same. Holding on to this anger and hurt would only hurt both of them in the end. They had already taken steps during the past week to go back and act how they did in the beginning of their relationship. Maybe the problem was the memories. If they could continue to replace those memories, it would help to be able to move past it. With that thought, he decided to leave Ari where she was for now and go visit Sonny at the club.

However, as soon as Will walked through Horton Town Square, he realized those memories were not going to go away easily. He saw that the next issue of _Sonix_ was out, and Paul Narita's face was right on the cover. In big print, there were the words "The Final Out- Paul Narita reveals the truth about his personal and private life". He shakily grabbed a copy, paid for it, and shakily opened it up. When he read the full article and saw what was in the magazine, tears came to his eyes and his heart shattered.

_Meanwhile_…

Sonny had woken up early that day in a bad mood. It had been a week since he had slept in the same bed as his husband, and he wanted that to end. He tried to remind himself that it had only been a week since he broke his vows, and he needed to give Will the time he needs. But it felt so draining. Will was still in the apartment, but Sonny felt like they were so far apart from one another. And Sonny had no idea how to fix it.

He decided that instead of staying in the apartment all day, he would go to the club. He was barely there the day before, and figured he could get a lot of work done. He hoped to be able to just get through this day and move on, and he hoped Will was able to as well. He partially felt bad about not being around when Will got up, like he was avoiding him, but he figured that Will wouldn't want to be around him today. This day had too many bad memories, and he couldn't handle seeing Will's face when he woke up.

He had a weird feeling on his way out the door, and decided to walk to the club and try to clear his head. He tried to shake off his mood, hoping it was just the fact of what that day was and needing to get over it. There was no one around when he opened up the club, and for once he was happy about that. He needed a little peace for a moment, since he knew it wouldn't last.

A couple hours later, he saw that he had received a text from Will letting him know he was dropping Ari off at the baby-sitter's for a while and going to a counseling session with Dr. Greenberg. Sony was glad that Will was not just sitting in the apartment all day, and hoped that the session would help Will be able to move past what had happened. He was glad he left the car for Will to be able to use, and hoped that maybe Will would come by later and see him. It was already after 2, so maybe they could have an early dinner together.

Suddenly, his mom came storming into the club. "Sonny!"

He looked at her startled. "Mom, what's wrong?"

She didn't say anything, but held up a copy of the newest issue of _Sonix_. Sonny paled when he was Paul's face on the cover with the title, "The Final Out- Paul Narita reveals the truth about his personal and private life". He immediately grabbed it and opened it up to read. Paul apparently went straight to Zoe Browning and gave his life story, about how he was gay, but pretended to be straight so that he could play baseball professionally. He went on to talk about how he had met the love of his life, but lost him because Paul was too afraid to come out of the closet. The article ended with the fact that he found his true love again and was ready to be out and proud. The real punch to the gut was that, right on the next page, there was a picture of Paul kissing Sonny outside of _Club TBD_. Sonny's name wasn't mentioned at all in the article or below the picture, but it was obvious who it was.

Sonny felt like he was going to pass out and quickly sat down in the nearest chair. "Oh my god."

Adrienne reached over to him. "Are you okay?"

Sonny looked at her incredulously. "How can you ask me that? Do I look okay?"

Adrienne let the comment go, knowing her son just has had a major shock. While the affair was not printed, nor Sonny's name, it clearly gives the impression that Sonny and Paul are back together.

A horrible thought then occurs to Adrienne. "Do you think Will has seen it?"

Sonny pales once again. "Oh god, Will! No, I don't think so, he was going to see the counselor we saw yesterday, but once he gets back…" He couldn't even finish his sentence. He couldn't imagine what Will was going to think once he saw the article. The picture was even worse. He knew that was the kiss Paul suddenly gave him outside the club a couple days ago and now realized that it was planned. Paul must have planned to kiss him, get the picture, and have this article printed.

His nausea and dizziness suddenly turned to anger. Paul was trying to ruin his life, trying to make sure there was no way that Will would take him back. Sonny couldn't take it anymore. He asked one of his baristas to cover for him, and he then stormed out of the club with his mom on his heel. She tried to convince him to call Will and give him a heads up, explain what happened, but Sonny didn't hear it. He ran off in the direction of the hotel.

He stormed through the lobby and, once he got to Paul's door, began banging loudly on it. Paul casually opened the door, looking pleased that Sonny was there.

"Hi, Sonny."

"What the hell are you doing, Paul!"

Paul feigned surprise. "What are you talking about?"

Sonny seethed. "Don't play dumb. It's not a good look. The article, Paul."

"Oh, the article in _Sonix_. Well, I figured since Will wasn't comfortable writing it, I would still tell someone my story. Zoe Browning was so happy to help me. She especially loved the picture of the two of us. Don't worry; I didn't give your name. Although, I think she knew who you were."

"How could you do that to me? I am trying to fix my marriage, Paul. I told you we were done."

Paul looked around and reached to grab and caress Sonny's arm. "Sonny, why don't you come in and we can talk about this."

Sonny yanked his arm back. "I am not going anywhere with you. I want you to get over this thing you have about me. We are done. I don't want to be with you. I love my husband, Paul. I want to be with Will!"

"I don't believe you, Sonny. I know you still feel something for me. I know you still want to be with me. You are just staying with him out of obligation or loyalty, because you are a good person. But it's okay. People will understand. _Will_ is going to understand, eventually. He will understand how much we love each other and are meant to be together."

"You are delusional, Paul. I am staying with Will because I love him and the biggest mistake I ever made was being with you. You are the person I ever regret being with. I'm done!"

With that, Sonny turned around and ran out of the hotel. He kept moving until he got to the park, breathing heavily. He needed to clear his head and figure out what he is going to say to Will. He knows Will is going to be devastated when he sees the article, and angry when he sees the picture. Sonny realizes now he should have told Will immediately about the kiss, but he just didn't think that anything good would come out of telling him. He _never_ suspected that someone was going to take a picture of them.

He is pulled out of his thoughts when he hears Paul approaching.

"I said everything I needed to Paul. I am done with you. Leave me alone, or I will get a restraining order on you."

"You don't mean that, Sonny. I know you love me. You know how good we can be together. I love you. I can be everything you need me to be."

"Unless you can be Will Horton, I want nothing to do with you."

"I'm better. Let me prove it to you."

He grabbed Sonny and passionately kissed him again. He held Sonny against his body for a few moments, pressing all his desires into Sonny. Sonny was stunned, and at first didn't fight back. But then his brain caught up and he pushed Paul away.

"Stop! I told you, there is nothing between us anymore. I'm done. I want to be with Will."

Paul looked up past Sonny and smiled. "You sure about that? I don't think anyone here believes you."

Sonny then heard a pained gasp, and his stomach dropped again when he turned around.

Will was standing a few feet away from them. Will, who had seen the kiss. Will, who promptly turned around and ran the other way.

"Will! Wait!"


	23. Chapter 23

_Author's note- as some of you have pointed out, this story is parallel to what is happening on Days. Please know that this was a coincidence. I had started writing this story before we find out that Will is the one who cheats, and as it progressed, it was more of just how I felt the storyline should have gone. I realize this next chapter is very similar to what is going on in the show, but again, it is a coincidence. I always intended for this to go this way. I have to say, I am so heartbroken for Sonny on the show. I just want to run up and hug him! I hope they change Will back into the person he was before who deserves a man like Sonny. I want them together, but not how Will is now.  
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_Anyways, enough of my rant. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. I love getting all your reviews and it really does help me progress with the story. Warning- angst ahead! _

Will felt sick standing there and watching his husband kiss another man. It was bad enough seeing the picture with the article. He went looking for Sonny, hoping he could explain the picture and what was going on. He kept telling himself to not react yet, not until he saw Sonny. But when he went to the club, Sonny wasn't there. The barista told him Sonny had run out quickly, but wasn't sure where he went. Will went back out to look for him. He tried calling his phone, but Sonny either didn't have it with him or didn't hear it.

His feet suddenly had him walking through the park, and that was when he saw them. He stopped and watched as Paul and Sonny talked, but he wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying, and then Paul pulled Sonny in for a kiss. If his heart wasn't completely shattered by then, that moment did it. Seeing those two passionately kiss made him feel like he was being stabbed over and over again. _'Actually'_ he thought, '_I wish I was being stabbed over and over again.'_ He stood transfixed watching the two of them. When the kiss broke, they spoke again, and then Sonny turned around. When he saw that Sonny had seen him and knew what he saw, he turned and ran the other way. He couldn't be there another moment. He couldn't be a part of another moment where Sonny tells him he would rather be with Paul than him.

He ran as fast as he could, no real destination in mind. He stopped for a moment, and realized he was outside the Brady Pub. He looked around and remembered being outside the pub with Sonny and kissing Sonny. The kiss that was the start of their relationship. That was the kiss that he considered their true first kiss. Tears ran down his face and he sobbed as he thought about the beginning of their relationship. How happy and simple everything was. A part of him wants to go back in time and tell himself to enjoy it but don't get comfortable, because it won't last. Nothing good in his life ever does.

He leans up against the railing, trying to remember how to breathe, curling his arms around his stomach, when he hears his name being called. Sonny runs up to him and starts to reach out to him, but Will jerks away.

"Will, I'm so sorry you saw that."

Will scoffs. "Don't be. I get the picture." He looks over and sees Paul standing back. He sneers at him. "You don't need to explain anything. I've been through this already."

Sonny looks desperately at Will. "Baby, please."

"Don't call me that! Don't ever call me that again."

"Will, I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"Didn't what? Didn't mean for it to happen? Didn't mean for me to see? Why not, it's all out in the open now, isn't it?!" He throws the magazine at Sonny, who barely catches it.

"Hey, don't get mad at him. He didn't know I gave Zoe the information." Paul says.

"You shut the hell up! I don't want to hear from you ever again."

"I told you, Will. Sonny is going to end up with me. You can see how good we are together."

Sonny ignores Paul and wishes Paul would just leave them alone, knowing that the longer he is there, the more volatile this can get. "Will, please. Let's just go somewhere and talk."

"What is there to talk about? Huh? You have spent this past week trying to convince me that what happened didn't mean anything, and that you didn't want to be with him. That you were going to do whatever it takes to make our marriage work."

"I meant that."

"And yet, the one thing I ask for you to do, _the one thing _was stay away from him. Don't hang around him; don't talk to him, just stay away from him. And now I find out that, not only did you go see him today, you have seen him during this week. There is a picture to prove it. It really is worth a thousand words."

"I'm so sorry about what happened."

"You know, I'm really sick and tired of hearing I'm sorry. Everyone always says that to me in the end. What does that even mean?"

Sonny stays quiet, not sure what to say to Will at this point. He knows that he has hurt him beyond belief at this point, but all he wants to do is try and explain his side of the story. If he could get Will away from Paul and willing to talk to him, maybe things would look better. He just needs Will to listen to him.

But Will isn't willing to listen. His anger and pain are driving him, and all he can think about it needing to get away. He feels so raw after the counseling session, baring all his fears out, and then coming back to see the article and that picture. A part of him wants to grab hold of Sonny and refuse to let go, begging him to stay with him. He wants to plead with Sonny to assure him that they will be okay, they will get through this. But his pride will not allow it.

Sonny tries one more time. "Please, Will. I don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry. I was so angry when I saw the article and the picture because I knew it would hurt you. That was the only reason I went to see Paul. I wanted to confront him and tell him once and for all that we were done. He kissed me."

Paul can't believe that Sonny is still standing there trying to talk to Will. What does he have to do to get Sonny to see that Paul is the better man for him? He came out to the world, there should be nothing standing in their way. What Paul can't see is how much Sonny loves Will, and just wants to be with him. He truly believes that Sonny was only staying with Will out of some obligation. A small thought occurs to him that maybe, just maybe, he was wrong about this whole situation.

Will miserably looks away from Sonny. "I went to see the counselor today. She made me see that maybe it was time for me to let go, to try and move forward with you. You had given me so many chances that it was my turn to do the same. That because you were willing to do what I needed you to do to make this work; I was going to do the same. I was willing to do whatever you wanted, change who I am, as long as you stayed away from Paul."

Sonny is shocked at this admission. Will was going to change for him? Where had that come from? "I don't want to change you at all! Not one bit. I love you, who you are."

Will shakes his head. "No, you don't. You hate what I wrote in the articles, you think all I care about is getting my name in the headlines. And I get it. Poor pathetic Will Horton, trying anyway to show he can be successful. How could he ever get someone like Sonny Kiriakis? Not only that, but get Sonny to marry him? Even going to L.A., I wanted to show everyone that they were wrong about me, that I could show why I was able to get someone as amazing as you. But of course, I fail at that too. I couldn't hack it and I come back to find that everyone thinks I am a horrible husband and person for leaving."

He runs his hands through his hair, feeling like he is losing his mind. Sonny's tears are raining down his face, looking at his broken husband. _'I did this.'_ Will looked around and suddenly couldn't stand there any longer. He could see people in the pub looking out at the three of them, and knew they would want to see what was going on. He ran from Sonny, no longer able to look at the man who would probably become his ex-husband soon. That thought caused more tears to run down his face. He ran out into the street, and that unfortunately was at the wrong moment. A speeding car raced down the road, and had no time to stop or dodge Will.

Sonny dejectedly watches as Will runs from him again, and then stares stunned as he watches Will's body somersault over the speeding SUV and crash down hard onto the pavement. Luckily, the other cars were going slow enough that they could stop before running over Will. His body rolled a few feet before coming to a stop, completely unresponsive.

"NO!" Someone heard a scream, and people began running out to see what the commotion was. The speeding car ran off from the scene, but Sonny didn't care. The only thing on his mind was Will. Sonny went racing over to Will's prone body, kneeing down next to him but then stopped before he touched him, fearful of hurting him further. Blood pooled around his body, his legs bent awkwardly, and when he leaned down, Sonny could barely hear his breathing. Sonny finally ran his hand down Will's face, trying to get a reaction from his husband.

"Will? Come on, wake up baby. Please, wake up!" He tapped the side of Will's face, but got no reaction. His hands and knees became stained with blood, but he didn't care. "I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry. Please, wake up. You have to be okay, wake up!"

"I've called 911, they are sending an ambulance." He hears someone say in the background, but he doesn't look to see who it is. Will lays on the ground, unresponsive, and all Sonny can think is, '_Please, God, let him be okay. Don't take him away from me now.'_ He hears someone calling his name, but he ignores it, focusing only on the battered body in front of him. It isn't until the paramedics show up that he allows himself to be pulled back. He feels like he is in a trance, unable to believe that this whole situation just happened.

"What's his name?" One of the paramedics calls out.

This snaps Sonny out of his trance. "Will, Will Horton. I'm his husband. Please help him."

The paramedics cut off Will's tattered shirt and begin checking his vitals. They call out to Will to try and get a response, but the result is the same as before. They worked quickly to get Will onto a backboard and loaded on a stretcher. An oxygen bag was placed on his nose and mouth to help him breathe.

"Come on, we got to get him loaded up and go!" The paramedic yelled to his partner. Sonny suddenly heard his mom's voice behind him.

"Oh my god!"

He turns to her, and she gasps at the blood all over him. "Are you okay? Sonny, what happened?"

He whispers, "Will was hit."

He turns back to see the paramedics have loaded Will into the ambulance. He rushes over. "Please, can I come? He is my husband."

The female paramedic shakes her head sadly. "Sorry, we can't allow that. We need the room."

Adrienne pulls Sonny back. "We will meet them at the hospital. Come on, Sonny." She gently guides Sonny away from the ambulance as the doors are shut and they take off. Sonny's mind is on overdrive, not able to comprehend what he has just seen. Paul comes up to them, but with a vicious look, Adrienne sends him away. There is no doubt in her mind that this is his entire fault. If he had never come back into Sonny's life, this whole mess would not have happened.

Ten minutes later, Sonny is rushing into the hospital and races to the main area.

"Will Horton, he was just brought in by the ambulance. Is he here?" The nurse looks up at him and asks, "Are you family?"

Before he can answer, Maxine calls out to him. He rushes over to her. "Will has been taken in; they are working to stabilize him."

"Where is he? He needs to know I am here." Sonny pleads. He looks around to try and see where Will is, but Maxine pushes him back.

"You need to give the doctors some space to work on him. I promise the doctor will give you an update when they can."

"But he needs to know I'm here."

"He will, I promise. Now, I need you to sit down and let us do our job."

Adrienne pulls him back and guides Sonny over to the waiting room. "She is right, Sonny. Let's go and sit down."

Sonny can barely process what is going on around him, and is grateful for his mom being there. He sits in the chair shaking, absentmindedly thinking about their last conversation and praying it is not the last one he ever has with Will. He needs Will to be okay. Ari needs Will to be okay.

Thinking about Ari reminds Sonny that she is probably still with the baby-sitter. He needs to get someone to pick her up or have her stay there longer. He should probably also call Lucas or someone else to tell them about Will. But as he gets out his phone, his hand begins to shake and he can't make his body work.

Seeing her son so broken up, Adrienne takes the phone. "Who do you need me to call?"

Sonny can barely talk, but manages to get everything out. Adrienne first calls the babysitter and asks if Ari can stay with her for a while, that something has happened and they will keep her updated. She agrees, and then Adrienne calls Lucas. She doesn't give him much information, just urges him to get to the hospital quickly as Will was hurt. He agrees and tells Adrienne he will be there as fast as he can.

She turns back to her son and studies him. He looks so broken and scared, so unlike Sonny. She isn't sure what happened between when she saw him stalk over to confront Paul to when Will is loaded into an ambulance after apparently being hit by a car, but she knows it wasn't anything good. She feared that Sonny was going into shock and close to his breaking point. The last couple of months had been very hard on him, and it seemed things were falling apart all around him.

She ran her hand gently up and down Sonny's back. "What happened, Sonny?"

Sonny took a deep breath to try and quash the nausea rising up in him. "I went to confront Paul at his hotel about the article. He acted so nonchalant about it, like he did it _for_ me. I was so angry, and I left because he didn't seem to get it. He followed me, telling me how much we were meant to be together. I again told him that the only man I wanted to be with was Will. We were in the park, when suddenly he grabbed me and kissed me. I pushed him away, but it was too late. Will saw the kiss. He ran off, and I finally caught up to him outside the Brady Pub."

He stops for a moment, tears running down his face again. "God, mom, he was so hurt and broken. I kept trying to explain what happened, but he had seen the article and the kiss, and just wanted nothing to do with me. It didn't matter what I said, he just didn't listen. He ran off again, and the car came out of nowhere."

He began to hyperventilate, remembering the image of his husband's body being flung over the car. He tried to take in air, leaning his head down between his knees, but the room was closing in on him. He got up and stumbled towards the bathroom, racing to the toilet before throwing up everything in his stomach. He heard his mom following him, but was grateful she stayed outside the bathroom. After a few moments, he finally finished heaving and leaned back against the wall.

He was so emotionally wrung out he didn't know what to do. His husband was in fighting for his life, and even if he did survive, probably never wanted to see Sonny again. At that moment, Sonny didn't blame him. He broke the one promise he made to Will, the only thing that mattered to Will. He saw Paul, not once, but twice, and hid the fact the fact that he had seen Paul. Instead of hearing it from Sonny, and being able to hear Sonny's side of the story, Will had to see it in _Sonix_.

He suddenly had a new appreciation for what Abigail went through. Not that he would ever tell her that. But the fact was that even though the magazine didn't print his name or details about the affair, it did insinuate that he and Paul were together. People who lived in Salem knew who he was and who he was married to. He had a whole new bundle of hatred for Zoe Browning. She knew who he was, and that this would get back to Will, but she printed it anyway. Did she not even care who it hurt? Did she not care about Will at all, not even to give him a heads up? He promised himself that, when he knew Will was okay, he would ask his Uncle Vic to do everything in his power to take Zoe Browning down.

He forced himself to get up and began to wash his hands. He realized he still had Will's blood on him, and it caused him to get sick again. When he finished, he scrubbed his hands clean from Will's blood. It wasn't enough, but he knew he needed to get back to the waiting room in case there was any news. When he gets back to the waiting room, he sees that not only has Lucas arrived, but Marlena, Roman and John as well. Before they can ask him any questions, however, a doctor comes out.

"Family for Will Horton?"


	24. Chapter 24

_Author's Note- I am so sorry it took so long for an update. I was away on vacation in beautiful Puerto Rico, and I didn't have access to a computer. But I am hoping the next few updates will make up for it. Please also know that the medical information below is due to research I did on the internet. Please excuse any medical mistakes or inconsistencies. Please review!_

Sonny raced to the doctor. "How is he?"

The doctor sighed. "My name is Daniel Thomas. I am Mr. Horton's treating physician. Are you related to Mr. Horton?"

Sonny nodded. "Yes, I'm his husband. Please, is he okay?"

The doctor looked around at all the other people in the room. "Perhaps we should go someplace more private."

Sonny shook his head. "These are his family too. Please, just tell us how Will is."

Dr. Thomas sighed again. "Will is being prepped for surgery right at this moment. He has several injuries, but our biggest concern is the intracranial pressure from the head trauma he received from being hit by the car and hitting the ground. Dr. Jonas is going to be operating on him alongside myself. The CT scans he had done when Will first came in have shown us that there is a small bleed in his brain that we need to stop, as well as other internal bleeding. As soon as we get that under control, we will be able to move on to his other injuries."

Lucas spoke up. "Other injuries?"

Dr. Thomas nodded. "We ran a couple x-rays, and found that his collar bone on the left side is broken, as well as a fracture to his pelvic bone. But our major concern is the trauma to his head. I'm sorry I can't give you better news right now, but hopefully in a few hours after the surgery, we will have a better idea of what we are dealing with."

Sonny spoke up again. "Please, do what you need to do. Please save my husband."

Dr. Thomas nodded and promised to come back when they had an update, but that it would be several hours. The group thanked him as he walked back to check on Will. As soon as the doctor left, the group turned to Sonny. All of them looked concerned, and Sonny hated seeing that focused on him. They should be concerned about Will, not him. He doesn't deserve it.

John Black is the first to speak. "Sonny, what happened?"

Sonny doesn't know what to say at first, so Adrienne answers. "Will was hit by a car outside of the Brady Pub."

Marlena gasps and both Lucas and John look in shock. "What?"

Sonny nods and finds his voice. "He ran out into the street and a car was speeding down the road. He got hit."

Roman cuts in and asks, "Who was the driver?"

Sonny shrugs. "I don't know, they didn't stop."

Lucas chimes in. "They didn't stop?! They hit Will and then kept going?"

Sonny nods. John continues. "Did you see what kind of car it was? Were there witnesses?"

"I don't know. It all happened so fast. There was a crowd around us, but I don't know who." He chokes out the next line, getting visibly upset again. "I was just so focused on Will. One moment he was standing in the street, and the next his body is crumpled on the ground, blood everywhere." He gets chocked up a bit thinking back to when it happened.

John and Roman decide to call into the station, and find out if there are any witnesses to get the investigation started. Something that Sonny said sticks out to Lucas. "Why did Will run out into the street?"

Sonny stares at Lucas miserably, not wanting to admit what happened. Marlena looks curiously at Sonny. "Sonny? Did something happen to cause Will to run into the street?"

Adrienne looks at Sonny, then back at the group, ready to jump to her son's defense.

Sonny wraps his arms around his chest as if to protect himself and nods. "It's my fault."

Adrienne tries to wrap her arms around her son. "Sonny, no it's not."

"Yes, it is mom. This whole thing is my fault!"

Marlena jumps in. "Sonny, why don't you start at the beginning. Tell us what happened."

Sonny leans up against the nurses' station and, looking down at the floor, recaps the day. He tells then about Paul kissing him a couple days ago, how he must have paid someone to take a picture and then taken the picture to _Sonix_. He then explains how _Sonix_ printed an article about Paul outing himself and proclaiming that he is in love with a man, and that they showed the picture with the article, giving the illusion that Paul and Sonny are together. Adrienne jumps in to say that when she showed the article to Sonny, he became ill and then angry.

Sonny then continues about how he went to confront Paul, and Paul still didn't get it. Paul followed Sonny and then kissed him again in the park. But this time Will saw them. Lucas' jaw tightened as he listened to Sonny explain that Will had run off after seeing the kiss, but Sonny caught up to him outside the Pub. How Will didn't want to listen to Sonny and was devastated.

Sonny began to cry. "He looked so broken, and nothing I said made it better. I tried to stop him, but he ran off again, this time into the street. He wasn't paying attention." He slid to the ground and wrapped his arms around his knees. "It is my fault. Now he is fighting for his life, and probably never wants to see me again."

Adrienne kneels down next to Sonny. "Don't say that. None of this is your fault, Sonny."

Sonny looks at her. "It is mom. You didn't see him. How _shattered_ he looked. I wanted to just hug him and not let go, but he wouldn't let me touch him."

Marlena kneels down as well. "Your mom is right, Sonny. This is _not_ your fault."

But then Lucas speaks up. "Why were you kissing Paul?"

Sonny looks up at him. "He kissed me, I wasn't kissing him. Both times, he came up to me and kissed me. I pushed him away."

"Then why didn't you tell Will about this to begin with?"

Marlena starts to step in, but Sonny beats her to it and stands up. "I thought it would only hurt him to hear about it. I was wrong, and I wish I did tell him before. But that day, things seemed better between us, and I was afraid it would only push Will away from me. I swear I had no idea that there was a picture, or that Paul was going to go to _Sonix_ and have them print the story. And after, I tried to tell him, but he was so upset he didn't want to listen."

Lucas wants to argue with Sonny, yell at him that Sonny had promised to stay away from Paul and be honest with Will. But he instead takes a step back and looks at Sonny. He knows that Sonny means it, that he never wanted to hurt Will, and realizes the blame fully belongs with Paul. "I'm sorry, Sonny. I'm just upset."

Sonny nods, understanding how he feels. He paces around, not sure what else to do. He thinks back to the last time he was at the hospital waiting for news on Will. After he was shot and Arianna was born, Sonny paced around the hospital and broke down to his dad about how much he loved Will and how unbearable it would be to lose him. He realized that sentiment would be ten times worse now. At least before, Will knew he loved him and had a reason to fight back. What if this time, Will simply gave up and doesn't wake up? What if this time, Will feels like there is nothing waiting here for him? Sonny slumps onto a chair and clasps his hands in prayer, begging and pleading silently with anyone who will listen that Will is brought back to them.

While pacing back and forth for what seems like hours, Sonny gets a call from the babysitter that Ari is really upset and will not settle down, only calling out for her daddies. Sonny's heart breaks hearing his little girl upset, and agrees that someone will come get her. He, at first, wants to go himself and see his baby girl, but is torn as he doesn't want to leave the hospital in case there is news on Will. Seeing Sonny's concern and torn emotions, Marlena offers to go get Ari and bring her to the hospital. Sonny agrees, grateful that he doesn't have to leave the hospital and can also see his daughter. He needs to hold her as she is another piece of Will. He couldn't protect Will, but he can protect her.

Lucas called Kate to fill her in, and then called Sami. Neither of them knew about the cheating, so he left that part out, but they needed to know Will was in an accident. He convinced Sami to stay in L.A. and take care of the kids there, and he promised to keep her updated. Adrienne called Justin, in hopes that he would be able to provide comfort to their son. Even though things were very strained between them, she knew that Sonny needed his father. Sonny needed people in his corner when the news about Will came to them.

By the time that Kate and Justin arrived at the hospital, Marlena had also arrived back with Ari. As soon as Ari saw Sonny, she immediately held out her arms and cried out for her dada. Tears came to Sonny's eyes and he cradled her little body close to his, needing some form of Will in his arms.

He quietly shushed her cries and bounced her in his arms. "Hey baby girl. It's okay, everything is going to be okay. No need to cry."

Marlena stood next to them. "Janet said that Arianna just started crying and wouldn't settle down. She tried everything, but Ari refused to take a nap and kept calling out for her dada."

Whether she knew that something was wrong or it had just been too long since she had seen her daddies, Sonny didn't know. He also didn't care. He had Ari in his arms, and she was okay. Finally getting some form of comfort she needed, Ari immediately began to settle and fall asleep in her daddy's arms. Marlena held up the carrier for Sonny, but he shook his head, needing to hold Ari. It looked to everyone like Ari wasn't the only one in need of a little comfort.

Kate and Justin had a lot of questions, but Sonny wouldn't answer anything. He kept his focus between Ari and looking at the clock, waiting for news on Will. He refused to eat anything, only getting whatever Ari needed, until finally Justin and Adrienne convinced him to go into a quiet room to change his clothes. He still had blood stains on them, and they convinced him it would make him feel better. He brought Ari into the room with him while he changed, and then sat in the room looking at Ari in her carrier, sleeping. How could he ever explain to her what happened to her daddy? If Will didn't make it, how could he ever look her in the eye and tell her that it was his fault her daddy was in such pain and got hurt so bad? She had Will's eyes, and he wondered if the truth came out and Will didn't survive, would she show the same pain that Will had shown earlier? It killed him to see it in Will's eyes. He would never recover if he saw it in Arianna Grace's eyes.

He began to break down again, thinking back to the past week and the past few months. All the pain and stress he had been holding in, and he quietly began to sob. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see his dad in the room. He turned and collapsed into his arms, sobbing out all the pain, anger, frustration and worry he had been holding in. His dad tightened his hold on his son, telling him to let it all out. His son may be a man, have his own family and business, but to Justin and Adrienne, he would always be their little boy.

After 15 minutes, Sonny was all cried out. He held on to his dad, needing his strength to keep going and be able to get through the next moment. He pulled back and wiped his face with his arm, but before he could say anything, there was a knock at the door.

Lucas poked his head in. "Sonny, Dr. Jonas is back."

Sonny straightened up, grabbed Ari in her carrier, and hurried out into the waiting room where the rest of the group was waiting with Daniel Jonas.

"How is he?"

Daniel sighed. "Will had an extensive amount of damage to his body, specifically to his head. There was a small bleed we were able to repair, but there was also a lot of swelling to his brain. We are also concerned about the damage to his spine. He does have a fractured pelvis, but the tests also indicate swelling on his spine. We won't know the full extent of the damage until the swelling goes down, unfortunately. His body is under a great deal of stress. I don't want to frighten you, but we did almost lose him on the table. Because of this, and due to the significant trauma on his body, I'm sorry to tell you, but we have put him in a medically induced coma for now."

Gasps were heard throughout the room, and Sonny felt his body start to give out. His dad held him up, bracing him to keep listening.

"But he is going to be okay, right?" Sonny needed to know. He needed to know he wasn't going to lose his husband and Ari wasn't going to lose her dad.

"I wish I could give you better news. The next 24-48 hours are critical. We have put him in a coma for now to give his body a chance to rest and try to heal. With this other injuries, the fractured pelvis and the broken collar bone, it is best to keep him immobile for now. We are hopeful that in a couple of days the swelling will go down. Besides this, he is young, healthy, and has a lot to live for. I'm hopeful."

"Can I see him?" Sonny needed to see Will. He needed to tell Will that he had things to live for. That he needed to fight and come back to him and Ari.

Daniel nodded. "They are getting him set in his room right now, Maxine will get you when they are ready. For now, as he will be in the ICU, there is a limit to the guests. Immediate family only."

He placed his hand on Sonny's shoulder. "Will is strong. Don't give up hope."

Sonny thanked him, and Daniel then left the group. There was a sense of unease throughout everyone. They were grateful Will was still alive, but uncertainty ran through them. Would he survive? How bad was the damage? Would he have permanent injuries? None of them were going to get any answers, and for now had to just be happy with the fact that Will survive the accident and the surgery. It was the best they could hope for.

The group waited another hour while Will was settled into the ICU. Finally, Maxine came down and said that Will could only have 3 visitors at a time. Sonny obviously stepped up first, and then Lucas. Marlena and Kate both looked at each other, and Marlena said she would wait and call a few people to give them updates. Grateful, Kate smiled and the three walked with Maxine to the ICU.

Before they entered Will's room, Maxine said, "I just want to warn you all. Because of the coma, Will is on a ventilator to help his breathe, and he is hooked up to a lot of machines and wires. There is also an external device attached to Will's hip to help his pelvic bones heal in place. While it all may look scary, it is helping Will."

The three nodded, but Sonny felt hesitant to enter. Could he handle seeing his husband like this?

"Sonny?"

Sonny shook himself out of his stupor and opened the door. They walked in, but the sight of Will made them stop in place. Even with Maxine's warning, they were not prepared to see Will. His head had been shaved and had bandages wrapped around to cover where he had surgery. The ventilator was covering half of his face, and they could hear the whooshing sound of machine, mixed in with the beeping sounds of his heart monitor. His face and chest were covered in small cuts and bruises, but luckily he had been cleaned up of all the blood.

The blanket was only covering his legs, and they could see the bulges of where the external device was hooked up. His left arm was strapped to his chest to help his collar bone heal. To Sonny, Will looked so small in the bed, and not the larger than life person he knew and loved.

Lucas and Kate immediately went to either side of Will, but Sonny hung back, standing at Will's feet. Kate gently stroked the side of Will's face, while Lucas grabbed on to his good hand.

"Oh sweetie." Kate said. "You are going to be okay, you hear me? You are going to get through this."

"She is right, Will. You are strong, and you have a lot of people waiting for you. We love you."

The two stayed another minute, just looking at Will, before deciding to give Will and Sonny some space. Sonny nodded gratefully at them, but didn't say a word. After they left, he pulled up a chair and sat where Lucas had been standing. He carefully grabbed Will's right hand and brought it to his lips.

"Hey baby." He said quietly. "I'm here. Ari and I are here, and we are not going anywhere."

He sniffled, and held Will's hand in his hands. "I am so sorry Will. I'm so sorry I hurt you, that I brought my past into our lives, and that I made you feel at all like you had to change for me. I love every part of you. You are the only one I want to be with. I wish I could change the things that happened, but the only thing I can do is make the future better. But to do that, you have to come back to us. Ari and I need you."

He began to cry, and cradled Will's hand against his face. "I know you need your rest right now, and you take all the time you need. We will be here. _I_ will be here. I'm not going anywhere."

He stroked the side of Will's face and, carefully avoiding the vent, kissed the side of Will's mouth and then his forehead. He stayed for a few more moments, gently touching Will, until the ICU nurse came in to say that his time was up. He gently kissed Will's hand and face again, promising to come back, before heading back out to the rest of the group waiting. He wiped his face clear of any tears.

When he got back out to the group, he immediately saw his parents and Lucas and went to go talk to them. Before he could, however, he heard his name called out. He turned and saw Abigail standing there. In her hand was the latest addition of _Sonix_.


	25. Chapter 25

Sonny couldn't believe Abigail was standing there holding that magazine. After everything, he wasn't in the mood to handle another confrontation. He felt so drained and exhausted, and the only things he wanted were to be able to lay next to his husband and hold their daughter. _'Well' _he decided, _'one of the two will have to do.'_ He ignored Abigail and continued on his path heading towards the rest of the group.

But Abigail refused to be ignored. "Sonny!"

"What?!" he asked, exasperated. His husband is in the ICU, what did Abigail want from him?

"Have you seen this?" She asked, holding up the magazine.

"Yes", he answered simply.

Lucas and Adrienne stepped forward, hoping to stop the confrontation. "Abigail, now is not a good time." Adrienne knew her son was in a volatile state after seeing Will, and hoped that Abigail would hear the warning.

But unfortunately, Kate noticed the growing confrontation and then locked her eyes on the article. "What is it?"

"Mom, it's nothing." Lucas needed to divert Kate's attention. As angry as he was about the situation and the article, he knew that the people responsible were Paul and Zoe. Sonny had dealt with enough.

But Kate couldn't let her curiosity go. She didn't understand what the big deal about the magazine was. She knew Will had been working on a big story. Did it get published? Was Abigail upset about it?

Before things went any further, Sonny decided to speak up. He realized that with the article out and the picture going to be shown, people were going to find out anyway. He needed to get his side of the story out.

"I cheated on Will with Paul Narita, who is my ex-boyfriend." Everyone around him stared at Sonny stunned at the admission. Those who knew what was going on were stunned that Sonny was openly admitting what he did, and the rest were stunned at hearing that _Sonny_ cheated on Will.

But Sonny was only focused on Abigail. "Happy now? I cheated and broke Will's heart. But that story" he pointed at the magazine, scathingly, "is a lie. Paul Narita outed himself to the world and wanted to make people think that we are getting back together, especially Will. I am not getting back with him. After today, I want nothing to do with him. I don't care what the picture shows, or what that article, or even Paul, says. The only man I love, care about, and want to be with is fighting for his life in the ICU. So thank you, Abigail, for making what probably is the worst day of my life, and reminding me of why this all happened."

He quickly grabbed Ari in her carrier and rushed over to the elevator that opened right away, hitting the down button. Before the doors closed completely, Justin jumped in between the closing doors and stood next to his son. Adrienne watched Justin run in after their son, and was grateful that Sonny wouldn't be alone. She would deal with what was going on at the hospital for the moment.

As soon as the doors opened in the lobby, Sonny raced outside and leaned against the building, taking deep breaths to calm himself. He couldn't lose it in front of Ari. Not now. Even though she had fallen asleep in the carrier, he still needed to hold it together for her. Justin had raced after Sonny, and seemed to understand Sonny's need to hold it together. He put a comforting hand on Sonny's shoulder, took the carrier from him, and guided him over to his car. He strapped the carrier into the car, and Sonny slid in next to her, needing to keep a physical connection with her. Justin got in and drove the car to the Kiriakis mansion. He felt that being in the apartment after what happened might be too much for Sonny, and the security of the mansion might be the best thing at the moment for him and Ari.

When Sonny saw that they had arrived at the mansion, he was surprised to find he felt grateful. He couldn't handle being in the apartment at the moment, seeing as Will was in the hospital ICU fighting for his life. He needed a safe place for him and Ari to decompress and for him to be able to steel himself for the oncoming storm that will happen. He knows it won't be long before people figure out who he is, and the media is going to be all over the story.

As soon as they enter the mansion, Henderson walks up and welcomes them. Justin thanks him, asking where Victor and the rest of the people in the house are. Henderson tells them everyone is out, and then leaves the two in the living room. Ari begins to wake up at that moment, and Justin immediately takes her out of the carrier and cuddles her, allowing Sonny to collapse on the couch, his exhaustion creeping in.

Justin held Ari in his arms and looked at his son. "Talk to me, Sonny."

Sonny wearily looked at his dad. "About what?"

Justin just gave his son a look, and Sonny sighed. "What is there to say? I broke my vows and Will's heart. I cheated on him with someone who I no longer care about, but I used to love, and now Will believes that I want to be with Paul over him. And part of that is my fault. I got drunk the night I cheated, and afterwards I told Will that I wished I'd never met him, never gotten involved with him, and that I wish I was still with Paul. I have been trying this whole week to hold it all together and show Will that I didn't mean any of it. I thought we were getting somewhere, and we were even going to counseling and started to go back to the beginning of our relationship, and then this article came out. Now Will is in the ICU, and even if he comes out of this okay, he will probably never want to see me again."

"Do you really believe that, Sonny?"

"Dad, you didn't see the look on his face. The anguish, the heartbreak; all of that is my fault."

"Okay. First of all, Sonny, it takes two to make a marriage work. You would never just cheat on Will for the hell of it, or for a chance to be with a past love. You both obviously have other issues to work out besides the cheating. And secondly, Will loves you with all his heart. The heartbreak and anguish you saw is because he doesn't want to lose you. You both have struggled and fought for your relationship, and have been through a lot. But the feelings behind that just don't go away."

"Do you really believe that?" Sonny needed to hear that his dad believed that. He needed to know there was a chance for his marriage.

"Yes, I do. All relationships have their ups and downs. Look at all the relationships that have happened here in Salem. Now, granted, this is a big down, but you can get through this."

Sonny sighed. "Then what should I do about the article? There is even a picture of me and Paul kissing at the end. I swear, Dad, it isn't what it looks like. Paul came up to me after I told him I didn't want to see him anymore, and he grabbed me and kissed me. I had no idea someone took our photo."

"I haven't read it yet, but I plan on doing that and then looking into a few things. Maybe your Uncle Victor can help."

Sonny nodded, grateful. He knew that the story was out there, but hopefully they could come up with some kind of retribution for the pain that Will went through. He didn't care about himself. He could take the looks and the whispers and the pain, but not Will. He looked over and watched his father coo at Ari, and the scene tugged at his heartstrings. He couldn't lose his family. If he lost Will, he feared he would lose Ari as well.

The events of the day caught up with Sonny, and before he knew it, he was leaning against the side of the couch and closing his eyes. Justin saw this and carefully pushed his son to lie down, putting a pillow under his head and draping a blanket over him. He quietly took Ari out of the room and brought her into his office to play. He took out his laptop and decided to read the article online and get a better understanding of the situation. He was determined to help his son.

About an hour later, Victor, Maggie, Brady and Melanie entered the apartment. When they walked into the living room and saw Sonny fast asleep on the couch, they began to get confused. Before anyone said anything, Justin walked into the room holding Ari. He gestured for them to leave the room so they didn't wake Sonny, and then closed the door as they gathered in the foyer.

Before he said anything, however, Adrienne came in. She saw Ari in Justin's arms and asked if Sonny was there. She had gone to the apartment to check on him and Ari, but no one was there. Justin nodded and quietly gestured with his head to the living room. Adrienne checked on him, saw he was sleeping, and quietly left him there. She then took Ari from Justin, guessing that Justin was going to explain what was going on.

Victor asked the question that was on the rest of the group's minds. "What is going on?"

Adrienne and Justin looked at each other, and then Justin spoke. "Will was hit by a car this afternoon in front of the Brady Pub."

The group gasped, and Maggie asked, "Is Will going to be okay?"

Adrienne shrugged. "We don't know. Right now he is in the ICU. He was brought in and had emergency surgery because of swelling in his brain and other injuries. The doctors decided to put him in a medically induced coma for now."

Brady spoke up. "Is that the accident that Dad and Roman were asking people about? I heard someone saying they were looking for witnesses to an accident."

Adrienne nodded. "The car was speeding, and then hit Will and took off."

Melanie then asked, "Is Sonny okay?"

Justin shook his head and said, "Sonny saw it happen, and obviously it traumatized him. I took him and Ari back here after being at the hospital waiting for news on Will."

Mel and Brady went to leave to check on Will, but Justin stopped them. "Before you go, there is something else you should know." Adrienne tried to stop him, claiming Sonny wouldn't want everyone to know, but Justin reminded her that the article was out there, and Sonny's side needed to be heard.

Adrienne sighed and Justin continued. "Will and Sonny have been having some problems in their marriage. There is an article in the newest issue of _Sonix_ that makes it seem as if Sonny is back with an ex-boyfriend of his, but this is not true,"

The group stared confused, not understanding why this was a big deal. Victor asked, "How can an article imply Sonny is back with an ex? Why would it?"

Adrienne answered. "The ex is someone who was in the closet and recently decided to out himself."

The group was still confused, and both Justin and Adrienne knew they wanted to know more. Adrienne couldn't bring herself to tell Sonny's secret, but Justin felt it was the right thing to do. "Like I said, Will and Sonny have been having some problems. Sonny was upset one day, got drunk, and cheated on Will a week ago with this ex." Before anyone said anything, he held up his hand and continued. "He regrets it, but obviously Will has had a tough time with it. The ex has been trying to get back with Sonny, and now is using the article to try and get Sonny back. There is also a picture of Sonny and this guy kissing, and Will saw it. He got upset, and that is what led to him getting hit by the car."

After that revelation, Melanie and Brady decided to leave and go see Will. They both promised to be back later to support Sonny. Adrienne took Ari into another room to play, and Maggie went with her.

Victor, meanwhile, gave Justin a hard look. "Tell me everything."

Justin sighed and led Victor into the office. It was time for everything to be out in the open.


	26. Chapter 26

Sonny slept all through the night to the next morning. The past week had caught up to him, and his body finally got the rest he so desperately needed. At first, Maggie and Victor wanted to wake Sonny up and move him into one of the bedrooms, but Adrienne convinced them not to. She feared that if Sonny woke up, he wouldn't get the sleep he so desperately needed. Brady came back around almost midnight after dropping Melanie back with her dad. They had gone to the hospital, but there was not much they could find out about Will. Even though Melanie worked at the hospital, they could not release too much information about his condition. But they were told that Will was stable at the moment and that Sonny would find out more information the next day.

When Sonny woke up at first, he was disoriented and didn't realize where he was. When he fully woke up and recognized the mansion, he wondered why he was there, and then the events from the previous day came back to him. Pain and sadness ran through his body as he remembered his husband laying in a coma in the ICU. He then looked around and began to panic because he didn't know where Ari was. He remembered his dad had brought him to the mansion, so hopefully someone here knew where she was. He couldn't believe that he fell asleep on the couch and no one woke him up to check on his daughter.

Henderson walked in at that moment. "Good morning, sir."

Sonny rubbed his face and said, "Good morning."

"There is breakfast in the dining room if you are hungry."

"Thank you." Henderson nodded and turned to leave, but then Sonny asked, "Do you know where my daughter is?"

"Your mother has her right now in the dining room. Your father and uncle had to go out this morning, but said they would be back later."

Sonny nodded and thanked Henderson again. He got up off the couch and walked into the dining room. He smiled when he saw his mom sitting at the table next to Ari in a highchair, who was playing with some dry cereal.

Adrienne smiled at Sonny when she heard him enter. "Good morning."

"Morning, mom." He then smiled at Ari. "Morning sweetheart."

Ari smiled and laughed at him. "Dada." He walked over to her and kissed the top of her head. She grabbed one of the pieces of cereal and reached it up to him. He opened his mouth and she pushed the cereal in. She smiled at him, and he smiled back and thanked her after swallowing the cereal.

"Dada sleep?"

"Yes, dada was very tired."

"Dada sleep too?"

Both Adrienne and Sonny looked confused for a moment, until Sonny realized she was asking about Will. His face dropped and he wasn't sure what to say to his daughter. He finally just said, "Yeah, dada is sleeping. We can see him later."

Ari nodded and went back to playing with the cereal. Adrienne looked over at her son, sadly. He dropped into the chair on the other side of Ari, alternating between staring at Ari and looking down at the table. She wished she could do something to make things easier for her son. Sonny was always a happy person, and lately all he seemed was stressed and upset. Normally she would blame that on Will, but she knew that this wasn't Will's fault. While she did not agree with the way her son-in-law had handled the L.A. decision and his work life, she couldn't blame him for being upset with her son for cheating and for the article. For that, she blamed Paul.

Sonny looked over at his mom. "Thanks for taking care of her last night and this morning. Sorry I slept in."

"Oh, honey, it was my pleasure. You needed your rest, and this little one is no problem at all."

"Yeah, she is always so good for me and Will."

Adrienne smiled sadly at her son. "I wish there was something more I could do for you."

Sonny sighed. "I doubt there is anything anyone can do for me. But taking care of Ari is enough right now."

"Things are going to be okay, Sonny."

"How can you say that, Mom? How are things going to be okay? Will is in the ICU, fighting for his life, and now everyone knows, nor will know once they see that article, that I cheated on him."

Adrienne reached over to Sonny. "Sonny, I know things look bad right now. But Will is still alive, and you have to believe that he will be okay. He loves you, I know he does. He wants to be able to get past everything. He told me himself. He just needs time to be able to get past this."

"And I am willing to give him that. I will give him as much time as he needs. I will do whatever it takes. But it just feels like every time I try and make a little leeway, something happens that just pushes Will back and away from me, and I have to start all over again. We take 2 steps forward and then 3 steps back."

"Sonny, you have to remember it has only been a week. I'm sorry, but you can't truly expect Will to get over what happened in that amount of time. I told the same thing to Will, it takes time."

"So what was I supposed to do? Let Will walk away and hope eventually he came back to me?! I get it, I screwed up, but you have no idea the amount of pressure and stress I have been under. I cracked, okay?"

Adrienne was surprised at the outburst from her son, but had a feeling this was coming for a long time.

Sonny stood up and continued, pacing around and forgetting that Ari was in the room. "He abandoned me! I needed someone and he wasn't there! I get it, it doesn't make it right or excuse what I said or did, but I couldn't take it anymore. I gave him everything and the one time I needed him, he wasn't there! What more do people want from me?! I didn't ask for any of this. I was happy living my life, and then it all fell apart!"

At that, he picked up a glass and threw it against the wall. The glass shattered, and the sound caused Ari to start crying and Adrienne to gasp. But the sound of Ari crying startled Sonny, and he realized what he had done. Just like the night he cheated on Will. Only this time, he couldn't blame it on being drunk. He looked up when Henderson, Victor, Maggie and Justin ran into the room, but he couldn't stay in there. He scared his daughter and his mom. He ran out of the room and out of the mansion, needing to get air. He felt like he was losing his mind.

He walked out into the grounds and stared out into the garden. He thought back to everything that had happened over the past few months. Gabi going to prison, Sami and EJ getting married, EJ getting arrested, the affair between EJ and Abigail, Will getting a new job and writing that article, the fallout of the article, Will working for _Sonix_, going to L.A., the new club, Chad and his friendship falling apart, Paul returning, and everything that had been going on this past week.

Sonny heard someone behind him, but didn't look to see who it was. "I think I am going crazy."

"You are a Kiriakis, you always had a little bit of crazy in you."

Sonny chuckled and turned around to face his Uncle Victor. "Sorry about the glass."

Victor shrugged and waved it off, saying, "It happens. We Greeks tend to break a lot of tableware."

Sonny chuckled again and then sniffled. "God, everything is such a mess." He wiped his face with his hands and then ran them through his hair.

Victor sighed. "Sonny, I know things look bad right now, and you have every right to breakdown over this. You were right in there. You have been under a tremendous amount of stress and the people that should have been there for you were not. Myself included. Sonny, I owe you an apology." Sonny looked at him curiously, but before he could say anything, Victor held up his hand. "Let me say this. I don't like to apologize, I think it is usually unnecessary, but in this instance, it is. I put a lot of pressure on you to constantly make your marriage work. I think everyone in this town believed that you and Will were the ones who could show everyone how to have a perfect relationship. But that kind of pressure is a lot for a young couple to take. And yet the thing is, you and Will are that perfect couple."

Sonny looked at Victor in surprise. _Perfect couple?_ Where did that come from? Didn't Victor hear about what had happened? Victor continued. "You both come from complicated backgrounds and families. But none of that matters to the two of you. You two complement each other so well, it is like you were destined to be together. But you have also had to deal with an enormous amount of stress. You have a baby girl you are raising together, a business, growing careers, and the people of Salem. It is enough to make any relationship struggle."

Victor reached over and put his hands on Sonny's shoulders. "I'm sorry that I put that pressure on you. And that I wasn't there for you when you needed help with your business."

Sonny sighed. "Uncle Vic, I don't need your apologies. I appreciate them, but it isn't necessary. I made my own mistakes, and so did Will. We may look like we have the perfect relationship, but it is far from it. Sometimes I wonder if people were right and we were too young to get married."

"Nonsense. You are never too young or too old to take a chance on love and get married."

"But look at everything that has happened since we got married."

"So what? Those things would have happened regardless if you got married or not. In my opinion, it was better that you got married."

Sonny looks skeptical. "What makes you say that?"

"If you were not married, when the fallout of all this happening, it would have been much easier to walk away. Being married gives you another reason to fight to stay together. It should not be the main reason, or the only reason, but it may force you to try and look at all your options."

Sonny looks away and rubs his neck. "Probably doesn't matter at this point."

"Jackson, you are a Kiriakis. That means we don't give up. We fight and go after what we want."

"Uncle Vic, it doesn't matter what I want. What matters now is what reality is. What I want is to go back and change everything that happened, but I can't."

"You are living in the past and the possibilities. What is happening now is reality. The reality is that you have a husband who is still alive in the ICU and a little girl who needs one parent to be there for her. You need to focus and concentrate on those two facts, nothing else. But don't forget you have people there for you. When you need to lose it or feel like you are going to fall, we will be there to catch you."

Sonny nodded with tears in his eyes and hugged his uncle, grateful for what he said. Victor then nodded and went back into the mansion. Sonny stayed outside in the garden for the moment, thinking back over what his Uncle Vic said. There was a lot of pressure on his relationship with Will. It was a big deal for the two of them to get married, not just because they were two men, but because of their relatives. Will's parents were legendary in their relationships and past marriages, and Sonny's own family wasn't any better. People always commented on how they were able to rise above all the past baggage, but it also put a strain because they had to prove they were better.

He then thought back to the things that Will had said before the accident.

_Flashback_

_"__Poor pathetic Will Horton, trying anyway to show he can be successful. How could he ever get someone like Sonny Kiriakis? Not only that, but get Sonny to marry him? Even going to L.A., I wanted to show everyone that they were wrong about me, that I could show why I was able to get someone as amazing as you. But of course, I fail at that too. I couldn't hack it and I come back to find that everyone thinks I am a horrible husband and person for leaving."_

_End Flashback_

Sonny had no idea Will felt that way. He knew that Will constantly was trying to prove that he wasn't his mom, and he knew that in the beginning, Will didn't feel good enough for Sonny, but he truly thought they were past that. To know that those feelings were still there made things a little clearer for Sonny, and also showed him that there were a lot more things going on in Will's mind that Sonny did not know about. It meant that they had an uphill battle to fight, but he had to believe they had a chance to win.

After standing out in the garden for a while, Sonny realized he needed to go back in and see Ari. He felt horrible he had scared her with his outburst. He never wanted her to be afraid of him, and with everything else going on, he needed to keep her a priority in his life.

When he turned to go back inside, he realized that his mom must have had the same idea, because she headed outside with Ari in her arms.

"Someone is looking for her daddy."

Sonny smiled with tears in his eyes and reached out for Ari, who in return reached for him.

"Hey sweetheart." He bounced her slightly in his arms. "I'm sorry daddy upset you before."

She looked at Sonny in his eyes and gently touched his face. She kissed his cheek and then nuzzled her head into his neck. He hugged her close to him, cuddling her little body to his. Holding her close reminded him what was really important. This was what he and Will forgot when they were building their careers. He suddenly got the urge to see Will again. But he wasn't sure if Ari would understand or be okay with seeing Will like that.

"No sad."

Sonny turned his head back to see Ari's face. "What, baby?"

"No sad, dada. Happy."

Sonny sighed. Ari was a perceptive little girl, too smart for her age. He knew she would notice that Will was gone, and it would upset her. It happened when Gabi was arrested. But how do you explain what happened to a little girl who was barely 2 years old?

"Want to go see daddy, sweetheart?"

Ari looked up at him and nodded. Adrienne looked concerned and started to stop him. "Sonny…"

But Sonny shook his head. It was obvious that Will wasn't going to be home for a long time, and Ari needed to see him. The question was how would he explain the situation to his little girl? Would she get upset that Will wouldn't talk or wake up?

A short time later, Sonny, Ari and Adrienne arrived at the hospital. Melanie was working as a nurse and immediately greeted them.

"Hey guys."

"Hey Melanie."

Melanie looked at Sonny. "Brady and I were over last night, Sonny, but you were fast asleep. I just wanted to tell you how sorry we were about everything that happened."

Sonny thanked her, and had a feeling that she knew everything that had happened. He looked down ashamed, but knew he would have to deal with this every time he saw someone.

"Sonny, I just wanted to let you know that I am here for you and Will, no matter what anyone says."

Sonny takes a deep breath and nods, needing to keep control for the moment. "Um, I know they normally don't let kids into the ICU, but I was hoping…"

She nodded. "It's okay. Go ahead."

"How is he?"

She sighed. "I'm not assigned there, but last I checked, which was about an hour ago, there had been no change. I know the doctors will want to talk to you at some point."

He thanked her again and continued on his journey. Adrienne decided to stay out in the waiting room. Out of the way, but there when her son needed her.

Sonny stopped outside the door and took a deep breath. He looked at Ari in his arms and said, "Daddy got hurt yesterday. So the doctors gave him some medicine that is making him sleep to help him get better."

Ari just looked at him, taking in everything he said but not necessarily understanding it. Why would her daddy need to sleep so much?"

Sonny continued, trying to think of how to explain to a little girl what was going on. "Sometimes when you get hurt really bad, your body needs to sleep to make it better. There are things helping him rest, and when he gets enough rest, he will wake up to see us."

He opened up the door and quietly walked in. "Now, it may look a little scary, but this is helping daddy, okay?"

Ari just stared over at her daddy in the bed. Sonny worried that maybe he had made the wrong decision. That maybe this would traumatize her too much. He was about to turn around and take her out when she said, "No. Dada" and reached out towards Will. He sat down on the chair next to Will's bed and pulled it close to the bed, bringing her closer to Will, but didn't put her down out of fear that she would pull a tube or wire and could hurt Will. But all she did was put her hand on Will's good arm and then laid back against Sonny.

Hold Ari with one hand, he reached out with the other to grab on to Will's arm. "Hey baby. Ari and I are here."

_Author's note- Again, I apologize for the delay. This is just a quick update and I hope to really get the story moving in the next few chapters. I have to admit, this story is becoming more complex than I originally intended for it to be, but I'm excited about that and I have all of you readers to thank. Your reviews have meant so much to me and have helped me along. Any mistakes I made in regards to the ICU visitors and medical issues are my own. Please review!_


	27. Chapter 27

After sitting with Will for about an hour, Ari began to get a little fussy, so Sonny decided to take her out for a walk. Maybe have his mom take her for a while so he could sit with Will for longer. After everything, he needed the time to be able to just sit and talk to Will. Even if Will couldn't answer him back. He had to keep reminding himself that the machines and medicine were helping Will, and when his body had gotten stronger, he would wake up. Maybe the more times he tells himself that, the better chance would be he would believe it.

Before he got too far, Dr. Thomas and Daniel Jonas approached him. "Sonny, how are you?"

Sonny greeted the two. "Okay. Ari and I were just visiting Will."

"That's good. I know the ICU restricts visitors, but it is important to be there and for Will to know you are there."

Sonny nods. "I wish I knew if he can hear me or not."

Dr. Thomas spoke up. "Studies show that people are more likely to come out of comas if they have family around them and talking to them, hearing that people are waiting for them."

Daniel spoke up again. "I also know that there is no way Will would leave you and this precious little girl behind."

Sonny smiled at them, and then asked, "How is he doing?"

"So far, things are looking good. We are not out of the woods yet, and to be on the safe side, we would like to keep him under for at least 48 hours. But so far his vitals look good, and we are optimistic. We will have to keep him immobile with the external fixture you saw for his fractured pelvis, and his collar bone. Right now, it doesn't look like more surgery will be needed, but we will monitor him and see."

Sonny nodded, and then Dr. Thomas spoke up again. "I just want to warn you though, your husband is in for a long recovery. Until the fracture heals, which could be up to six weeks, he will not be able to put any weight on his legs. When he does sit up and begins to move around, he will be confined to a wheelchair for some time, until the breaks heal and he regains his strength. He will need some intense rehab."

"I don't care what it takes, I will make sure my husband gets the best care possible."

"We know, Sonny. We just want to give you the facts ahead of time. That is not something that is a priority right now. The priority is monitoring Will right now until he wakes up, which is a high probability. You just need to be aware there is a long road ahead of Will, both physically and mentally. But he can get through it, with family and friends support."

Sonny thanked both doctors and then continued on his way back to the waiting room. He thought about what the doctors said, and how he knew the next few months were going to be difficult. He remembered what Rafe went through when he had been attacked, and how long it took him until he full recovered. A part of him didn't want to think about Will going through all that, along with dealing with the difficulties of fixing their relationship, but then he realized that their relationship needed to take a backseat to Will's recovery. Sonny would be there, supporting him, but wouldn't force Will to talk about any of their issues. But he refused to let Will push him away.

He knew Will Horton better than anyone else on the planet. And he knew that when Will woke up (when, not if), and he remembered everything that happened, he would push Sonny away. He would claim that Sonny was better off without him, he would act angry towards Sonny, and he would do everything he could to put a barrier between himself and Sonny. But Sonny also knew that he loved Will Horton with all his heart. He would need to remind Will of that from time to time, but part of loving him meant not going anywhere. He had a feeling he would need to write this whole speech down, if for no other reason than to remind himself of what was important.

When he reached the waiting room, he saw his mom talking to Marlena. He wondered if she was telling her about his outburst this morning. While he was embarrassed that it happened, he had been holding a lot in and it had probably been coming for a long time. But still, he hated the fact that it happened in front of Ari.

As he approached the two, they turned and greeted him. "How is Will?"

Sonny sighed. "The same. Dr. Jonas and Dr. Thomas came to talk to me after and said that they will probably keep him in the coma for at least 48 hours. But he hasn't gotten worse, so they are optimistic."

"Well that's good, at least" Adrienne said. Sonny just shrugged.

Marlena gently put her hand on Sonny's shoulder. "How are you?"

Sonny shrugged and hugged Ari close. "I'm okay."

Adrienne sighed and said, "Sonny…"

"Mom, I'm fine."

Marlena jumped in. "It's okay to admit you are not, Sonny. A lot has happened this week, and it is enough to make anyone feel out of sorts. You do have people who can help you and to talk to. I understand if you feel uncomfortable talking to me about it, but you should talk to someone. Call Dr. Greenberg, I believe she will be in her office today."

Sonny nodded and agreed to think about it. Marlena then left to see Will. Sonny slumped down on one of the chairs in the waiting room with Ari still in his arms. Adrienne sat down next to him and plucked Ari out of his arms and held her on her lap.

"Why don't I watch her for the day?"

"Mom, I appreciate that, but I can't ask you to do that after taking care of her last night."

"You are not asking me. I am offering. Sonny, I really think you should think about talking to Marlena or your counselor."

"Mom…"

"No, Sonny, please just listen. You have been through a lot, and you are holding a lot in. You have a right to be upset, if you are. I think you need to let some of this out. It doesn't make you weak, or a bad person, or crazy. It makes you human."

Sonny didn't say anything, just listened to her.

She continued. "And just so you know, it is okay to be mad at Will. While I don't believe you truly are mad at Will, it is okay to get mad at him or about him. He made mistakes, just like you did."

With that, she got up and gathered up everything for Ari. She kissed Sonny on the cheek and told him she would see him back at the mansion. Sonny nodded and kissed Ari, telling her he would be back later. He watched as his mom walked away with Ari curled against her.

He knew his mom and Marlena were right, that he needed to talk about what happened. But he couldn't completely wrap his mind around what happened. He still couldn't completely believe that this was going on in his life. The ironic part was the normally, when crazy things were going on, Will was the one he wanted to turn to. Before then, the only other person he had felt close to, besides his family, was Paul. He thought back to their relationship, how in the beginning everything was so new and exciting, and he didn't care that they were hiding. Paul made him feel amazing, and he loved every moment they spent together. But soon, the hiding began to wear on him. He wanted to be able to tell people who made him feel so good, who made him smile, and he hated the fact that he couldn't.

His last ditch effort was his proposal to Paul. When Paul turned him down, he felt devastated, and he basically realized that the relationship was going nowhere. It was so hard for him to walk away from Paul, but he couldn't hide anymore. He then spent a couple years traveling around and doing whatever he could to forget about Paul. But the memories never truly went away until he ended back in Salem and laid eyes on Will Horton.

The first time he saw the beautiful blonde haired, blue-eyed man, his world suddenly turned on its axis. He had to know this man. When he found out he had a girlfriend, he was crushed. But that didn't stop him from wanting to be friends with Will. Will was such a sweet, down to earth guy, and so much fun to just hang out with. And when he realized that Will was questioning his sexuality and having difficulties with it, he wanted to be there for him. His feelings just grew for Will, and he was so happy when Will finally admitted he was gay.

After they had a few miscommunications, when they finally got together, he felt so happy. Things just felt so easy, and Will wasn't hiding. When the secret of who Ari's father came out, he was devastated because his world was thrown again. He was angry at the secrets, and he had trouble getting past it. But soon, he realized that he loved Will Horton, and didn't want to give him up. Even when Brian kissed him and tried to seduce him, he couldn't because he felt like he was cheating on Will.

He sighed, and rubbed his face. He knew he needed to go to work and check on the club, but he really just wanted to go back and sit with Will. He didn't care that Will couldn't talk to him, he needed to see him and just be near him for a while. He needed to hear Will's heart beating and hold his hand.

When he got back to Will's room, Marlena was just leaving. She smiled at him and hugged him, reminding him of her offer to talk. He thanked her, and then entered Will's room. He sat down on the chair and pulled it close to the bed, holding on to Will's arm.

"Hey baby." He paused at looked up at Will's face, covered mostly by the ventilator. "Ari went back with my mom to the mansion. She seems to really like it there. I think we are going to stay there for a while, with all the craziness going on."

He clutched at Will's hand and leaned closer to the bed. "How did we get here, Will? This isn't us. We used to be so connected, so in tune with each other. How did we get so far apart? Why did we let this happen? The whole article mess, then you going to L.A., and me trying to open another club. I hated you being away and taking Ari with you. I didn't want to stand in your way of something that could be amazing, but damn it Will, I'm your husband. I felt like I was barely in your top 5 priorities. You have always been number 1 for me, and it felt like it wasn't the other way around. I tried opening another club to show how exciting and great our life could be here. Why wasn't it enough?"

He sighed and sat back a little, not able to look at Will. "I felt like you were excited for something that I couldn't enjoy with you. For the first time I felt like I wasn't good enough. And it brought back the insecurities that I had when I was with Paul. He made me feel like I wasn't good enough for him to risk everything for. To be out and proud, and show off our relationship. I hate being that insecure, and I promised myself after him that I wouldn't let that happen again. But you are the one person who made me feel like I could be weak and strong at the same time. I made myself independent, not letting myself ever rely on anyone after Paul, and you broke all those walls down. I love every part of you, and you own my heart.

We need to find a way to get back to where we were before. The article is bullshit. Paul is grasping at straws to try and change my mind, but I know how I feel. My world starts and ends with you and Ari. We belong together. I can't change what has happened, but the only thing I can say is that, despite everything, I can't imagine my life without you. I don't want to. And you should know that I usually get what I want. I'm never going to stop wanting you."

Sonny finished off his speech and leaned forward to kiss Will's hand again. He reached over to his bad arm and stroked the hand peeking out from the sling keeping his arm to his body. Will's ring wasn't on his finger, as it had been taken off when he went in for surgery. He figured it was being held at the nurses' desk, and he would get it before he left to go check on the club. For now, he was content to sit and hold Will's hand. It would have been better to lay next to Will and wrap his arms around him, but the bed wasn't big enough for that and there were too many things hooked up to Will. But Sonny promised himself that at some point, he would be able to lay next to his husband, holding him close.

After another hour of sitting with Will, Sonny decided it was time to check in on the club. He checked with the nurses' station and got Will's ring, making sure it was safely with him, and then sent a quick text to his mom letting her know he was at the club for a bit. He knew she didn't mind watching Ari, but that she would worry about him. Despite their issues, his parents really had been pulling through for him. He was grateful.

When he walked into the club, he could immediately feel stares on him. He saw a couple people reading the magazine, and knew word was most likely getting around about the article. He mentally braced himself and reminded himself to just concentrate on work and getting back to Arianna Grace.

T immediately came up to him when he approached the bar. "Sonny, hey. I didn't expect to see you in here."

"Yeah, well I figured since I wasn't here yesterday, I should check in and see what needs to be done."

"Okay. If you need anything, please let me know. Ben and I can cover most of what is going on here."

Sonny nodded and thanked T. He was surprised that T didn't bring up the article. He figured the entire town was buzzing about it.

But T didn't. "How is Will? I heard about the accident. Is there any news?"

Sonny shook his head. "No change from yesterday. I was just with him. So far, he is stable."

T put his hand on Sonny's shoulder. "Will is strong, he will pull through."

Sonny nodded, trying to hold it together and not cry.

"Sonny, I meant it when I said you don't have to be here. Ben and I can handle everything here if you want to go home."

"Thanks, T, but I really just want to focus on something normal."

"You live in Salem, you are not going to get normal here."

Sonny laughed at that, and remembered why T was such a good friend. He didn't start off that way, but Sonny could honestly say that he truly appreciated having T as a friend.

"Thank you T. I mean it."

T smiled and then went back to work. Sonny checked on things behind the bar, and then went back into his office. He wanted to create the schedules for the next week, and make sure inventory was set. But as he went through, he realized that he really didn't need to be there very long. T and Ben could handle most of the things going on, and really only he was needed to sign for deliveries and paychecks. But a part of Sonny needed to be there. Working was normal for him, and he couldn't just sit around all day. He would think too much.

After a while, he decided to go back out and work at the bar and hoped that no one bothered him too much about the article. Thankfully, things were quiet that day, and people only seemed to ask him about Will and the accident. He knew eventually the story of his cheating would get around, but at least he had the peace of being able to work his business without dealing with gossip.

And then Paul Narita walked in. Suddenly everyone just stopped and stared. Waiting to see what was going to happen.

"Sonny."

Sonny glared at Paul. How dare he come into his place of business after everything he had done? How could he think for one moment this would be okay?

"How is Will?"

In that moment, Sonny was grateful for the fact that the bar separated them, for he was seconds away from beating Paul to a bloody pulp.

"Do not _ever_ mention his name again! Do you hear me?"

"Sonny, you have to know, I never wanted what happened to happen."

"So you didn't want me and Will to completely break up?"

"What I meant was, I never wanted Will to get hit by the car."

Sonny laughed. "You think I am angry at you because Will got hit by a car? Wow, I know you are selfish, Paul, so I really hate to break it to you, but not everything revolves around you. Will getting hit by that car is probably about the only thing I don't really blame you for. I mean, if you had not done the article, Will would not have ran out into the street, but it is a moot point here. Let me get one thing clear to you. Anything going on in my life, has nothing to do with you. My life for the past three years has not had a thing to do with you. Get that through your thick skull."

T pulled Sonny back and told him to go home, that he could handle everything there. Sonny was fuming, but agreed to leave. Another barista handed him his stuff and he stalked out, but was stopped by photographers and reporters, who were shouting questions at him. He pushed his way through and ran off towards the mansion. He couldn't believe the story was coming out, but the one bright stop was that Will was not having to deal with this. He hoped that by the time Will woke up out of the coma, this would have blown over. Maybe it was too much to wish for after everything that had happened, but at this point, the only thing Sonny really had was hope.

_Please review!_


	28. Chapter 28

The next few days were really similar to each other. Every morning Sonny would head over to the hospital with Ari to sit with Will for a few hours, talking to him and playing with Ari. There were moments where Sonny could actually forget that Will was in a hospital bed in a coma, until he went to tell Will something and realize that Will couldn't respond. He hated those moments. He would then check in at the club for an hour or two, but usually didn't stay very long since reporters were usually all over looking for a quote from him. His dad and uncle claimed they were working on something to help him with the article, but for now, he just had to ignore it.

Most of his family and Will's family were amazing. They stepped up whenever they could, helping him with Ari, giving him space, or someone to talk to, making sure the reporters stayed away from the mansion, and just being there. Ben and T really stepped up to take care of the club, and even Chad had softened and offered to help if he needed. He still didn't trust Chad and wasn't ready to repair the friendship, but he realized that the important thing was that Chad was willing to help.

Not everything was rosy though. Things between him and Abigail were really icy, so that made it awkward when she was around Ben, and then there was the issue of Paul. He still tried to talk to him, and it was getting to the point where Sonny was thinking about asking his Uncle Vic to step in and make Paul go away. While he wasn't doing anything threatening or illegal, he just would not seem to take the hint that Sonny wanted him gone. Thankfully Paul could not get to the mansion and had stayed away from the hospital. The mansion had become such a sanctuary to him in such a short time. He only went to the apartment to get clothes for him and Ari, and went back to the mansion. He couldn't stay in the apartment alone, and he was constantly reminded of his crippling relationship with Will there.

His mom was really worried for him, and he finally decided to break down and call Dr. Greenberg. He agreed he needed to speak to someone, and she had started to help them. Unfortunately, she was not able to fit him into her schedule until later in the week when he had scheduled to see her with Will. She offered to try and rearrange some things and get him an emergency appointment, but he declined, deciding he could wait. He was talking to his family, and had let out some of his anger. He could hold out until Thursday.

After 72 hours, the doctors had done some tests and decided to try and bring Will out of the coma. They warned Sonny that it could still be a while before Will actually woke up, as the medicine needed time to go through his system and the trauma to his body was still significant, but Sonny didn't care. To him, this was a good sign. It meant that Will was closer to getting better.

But 2 days after the doctors lessened the medicine, Will was still in a coma. Dr. Jonas and Dr. Thomas tried to lift everyone's spirits by reminding them that Will's body had been through a lot and needed time to rest. The one bit of comfort that Sonny got was the fact that the doctors told him that Will's brain activity increased when people were visiting him, and was the highest when he and Ari visited. This meant that he was registering the visits and his body just needed time to recover. This gave Sonny the biggest moment of hope and reinforced the idea to him of spending as much time as he could in the hospital. People did try to encourage to spend time away from the hospital, but at the end of the day, he refused to budge. No one wanted to argue with him too much.

The hardest day came when it was time for him and Ari to visit Gabi. Rafe had offered to take Ari himself, but Sonny wanted to see Gabi as well, and felt it was important for him to tell Gabi himself of what was going on. But when he got there, it was so hard to get the words out. Gabi was so excited to see Ari that he didn't want to bring the visit down with his news.

"Where is Will? Is he working?"

Sonny swallowed hard and the words got caught in his throat. Gabi looked at him and saw how pale he became.

"Sonny? Is everything okay?"

Sonny took a deep breath. "Gabi, there is something I need to tell you."

Gabi noticed Sonny had the same look on his face when he told her that Will had confessed to killing Nick. She had a feeling the news would be just as bad.

"What is it?"

"Last week, Will was hit by a car."

Gabi gasped and was glad she was sitting with Ari in her lap. Tears came to both her and Sonny's eyes. "Oh my god, please tell me he isn't…"

"No, he is alive. But the damage was bad."

"How is he?"

"He is in a coma. There was some swelling to his brain, and his collar bone and pelvis are fractured. Right now, we are just waiting for him to wake up to be able to know what else is going on."

"So he is going to be okay?"

"There is no guarantee right now, but the doctors are hopeful, so I am trying to be optimistic. They had him in a medically induced coma for 72 hours, but have lessened the medicine to try and bring him out of it. So far, he is still sleeping."

Holding on to Ari with one hand, Gabi reached across the table with her other and grabbed on to Sonny's hand. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. We've been staying at my Uncle Vic's mansion during all this, so my family has been really helpful. I can't be in the apartment right now. And T and Ben have been great at the club, helping me so I can spend more time at the hospital or focused on Ari."

"Sonny." He looked over at her. "That is not what I mean. Are you okay?"

"What do you mean, am I okay? I'm not the one who was in the accident."

"Yes, but I know you, Sonny. This has to be hard on you."

Sonny sighed. "Like I said, Gabi, this isn't about me. But don't worry about Ari, I am making sure she is taken care of and we have been sitting with Will in the morning."

"I'm not worried about Ari. I know you would take care of her. That is why I wanted the custody arrangement between Will and me to include you as well. But please Sonny, promise me you will take care of yourself. Please."

Sonny nodded and swallowed hard. He hated that people worried about him. It made him feel guiltier for the other things that had happened and how it led to Will's accident.

"Sonny?"

Sonny just looked at the ground. He couldn't tell her. Gabi had enough to deal with.

But Gabi just squeezed his hand. "You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to. But you can. We are family."

Sonny gave her a watery smile and thanked her. They spent the rest of the visit just talking about Ari and other things going on. A part of Sonny liked the weirdness of how normal it felt. He forgot that Gabi was in prison and just felt like they were sitting in the apartment, talking like they used to. He truly missed Gabi, despite the fact that they had a weird and rocky relationship at times. She was the one other person who understood all the layers of Will Horton and how amazing he could be, even when you were frustrated with him. Not a lot of people understood that.

After leaving Gabi, Sonny spent the rest of the day at the hospital with Ari. He wondered if his mom and others were right and it was a bad thing that he and Ari spend most of their days at the hospital, but he felt it was important to be there. Since the doctors told him Will's brain activity increased when they were there, he thought that maybe, just maybe, him being there with Ari longer would encourage Will to come back to them sooner.

The next day, Thursday, marked almost a week since the accident, three days since the doctors lessened the medicine to bring Will out of the coma, and his appointment with Dr. Greenberg. He stopped at the hospital and spent the morning sitting with Will, and then dropped Arianna off with Marlena. She agreed to watch her while Sonny was at his appointment and would meet him back at the hospital.

When he arrived at Dr. Greenberg's office, he suddenly felt really weird and sad. Maybe things were just hitting him all of a sudden, but he felt really weary and down. How could so much have happened in such a short amount of time? Maybe it was a good idea that he was here.

When he entered Dr. Greenberg's office, he greeted her and sat down on the couch. She immediately jumped into the session.

"How is Will?"

Sonny felt like so many people have asked that question that he was a robot, spouting the same answer.

"Okay. He hasn't woken up yet, but the doctors are optimistic."

She nodded and then got into the next dreaded question. "How are you?"

Sonny laughed. He decided to finally be honest. "I don't know. I actually hate when people ask me that. Why does it matter how I am? I am not the one in the hospital bed, fighting for my life."

"No, but you are the one who is having to deal with everything else. I'm guessing you have not spent much time away from Will's side unless you are taking care of Ari."

Sonny shook his head

"Tell me what happened."

Sonny took a deep breath and got into the whole story. How Paul had contacted an editor at _Sonix_ and outed himself, giving an exclusive about him and Sonny, without naming Sonny. How Will read the article and then saw Paul kiss Sonny, after Sonny confronted him about the article. How Will ran from Sonny, and then they fought after he caught up to Will. How devastated Will looked, and Sonny felt like that was the moment he lost Will. He then went into watching Will run into the street and get hit by the car. Tears ran down his face as he thought back to how it felt to watch the love of his life somersault across the top of the car and crumble to the ground.

Dr. Greenberg was astonished to hear the whole story of what had happened. The man in front of her looked so devastated and guilty, like it was his fault this whole incident happened. She passed a tissue box to Sonny and laid her hand on his.

"Sonny, I am so sorry you had to witness that. But you have to know this is not your fault."

Sonny looked up at her surprised. "Why would you say that?"

"Because I get the feeling you are blaming yourself for all this."

"Shouldn't I?"

"No! Did you push him in front of the car?" Sonny shook his head. "No, then it isn't your fault."

"But I was the one who brought Paul back into our lives. Even I didn't push him physically, I was still a part of this."

"It sounds like to me, even if you had not slept with him, Paul would have found a way to get into your life."

Sonny nodded. It became very clear to Sonny that Paul would have done whatever he needed to.

"But that doesn't excuse what I did."

"No, but you don't seem to be someone who would do this for no reason. You said before that things were tense between you and Will. My guess is you were feeling abandoned."

Sonny nodded. "I guess I just wanted that feeling of being wanted again. Paul was there, and it reminded me of the beginning of our relationship. How sweet and caring he could be. Will and I used to be like that, but the past couple of months, it just felt like there was this wall up. I just got insecure and felt so alone."

"That is natural and understandable. Sonny, while I can't tell you what Will said in our session, I can tell you that he does love you very much. He wants to find a way to bring you guys back to where you were before. You need to have faith in that."

Sonny thanked her, and then brought up a bit about his own insecurities. How he had dealt with feeling unwanted in the past, and what he needed to do to move past it. She encouraged him to talk to Will again and force the issue with him, even if he was being stubborn. When the session was over, they made another appointment for next week. Dr. Greenberg encouraged Sonny to call her whenever he needed to talk, and gave him her work cell phone for emergencies.

Walking out to his car, he actually did feel a little better. Getting some of his feelings out and talking to a third party was helping. As he got into his car, he checked his phone and saw he had a few messages, one from the hospital. He heart began to pound and he immediately called them, identifying himself when someone picked up. When he was transferred to Dr. Jonas, he was told to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

"Will woke up."


	29. Chapter 29

_Author's Note- As I said before, any medical mistakes I make regarding accident injuries or comas are my own. I tried to do a little research and make it as realistic as possible. Then again, are soap operas really that realistic?_

_Anyways, thank you so much to everyone who has been reviewing and giving advice for this story. You all deserve the credit for how this is going. There is still some drama ahead, but for now there is a little sweet reunion and love coming for our favorite couple- Will and Sonny._

Sonny rushed into the hospital as fast as he could. The words _Will woke up_ were running through his head. He couldn't believe it. Was his wish actually coming true? He hated the fact that it happened when he wasn't there, but he couldn't dwell too much on that. All that mattered was that Will was getting better.

He spotted Maxine and immediately ran to her. "Maxine, is he okay? What happened?"

Maxine held her hands up. "Calm down, Sonny. Dr. Thomas is just in with him now; he will be out in just a moment."

"But he woke up, right?"

"He started triggering the vent, which means he was trying to breathe on his own. I promise, Dr. Thomas will explain more once he finishes looking over Will."

Sonny nodded, but couldn't wait and sit down. He paced outside of Will's room, waiting for someone to tell him something.

After what felt like an hour, but was really only 10 minutes, Dr. Thomas finally came out to see Sonny. Sonny tried to get around him to see Will, and immediately bombarded the doctor with questions about Will.

"Sonny, I promise I will let you see him, I just want to explain a few things."

Sonny finally calmed down enough to listen to the doctor.

"So as I am sure you heard, Will began triggering the vent. This means that Will was trying to breathe on his own. When we went in to check on him, his eyes did open briefly, but he fell back asleep. Now I don't want you to completely get your hopes up, but this is a good sign. When a person begins to come out of a coma, they start to have moments of opening their eyes or reacting to the outside world. We were not able to run many tests, but we ran a breathing test and have disconnected the vent, as Will is able to breathe on his own. He has an oxygen mask on covering his nose and mouth to help him, but no longer needs the vent, which is a very good sign."

"So he isn't awake?"

"Not at the moment, no. But Sonny, this is a positive thing. He opened his eyes, he is breathing on his own. His body is getting stronger, and as time goes on, he will wake up more and more. For the next couple of days, when he does wake up, he will most likely be disoriented, or may not respond verbally. But as his body gets stronger, he should be able to stay awake and respond more. There is no set timetable or one process for a person who wakes up out of a coma."

Sonny thanked the doctor, and after he left, took a moment to calm himself and gather his thoughts. He needed to call his mom, Lucas and Marlena and give them the good news. He felt like his body was going to explode, and he felt a mix of excitement and dread. Excitement at the fact that Will was actually waking up, and was getting better. But he dreading the fact when Will woke up fully, would he remember everything? Would he turn Sonny away and refuse to see him?

Sonny shook himself out of those thoughts and forced himself to focus on making the necessary phone calls. All were immediately excited to hear the news, and while they all wanted to visit, Sonny reiterated what the doctor told them that Will wasn't truly awake, out of the coma, and that they didn't need to rush over. Marlena still brought Ari back over to the hospital with her, but then left Sonny and Ari to sit with Will.

Sitting in Will's hospital room with Ari, Sonny felt so content and happy. It felt so good to look over at Will and not see the vent covering his face. While he still had an oxygen mask on, it was such a huge step up for Sonny, and physical proof that Will was getting better. Sonny now just needed to see Will open his eyes. He needed to see for a fact that Will was coming back to him.

After a couple of hours sitting in Will's room, however, Sonny still had not seen Will wake up and Ari became restless. She was hungry, as her dinnertime was approaching, and Sonny needed to eat as well. He didn't have an appetite earlier, and was going to get something to eat after his appointment when he found out about Will.

"Okay, hunny, let's go get something to eat."

Ari mumbled happily and Sonny settled her into his arms, leaving her carrier on the floor for the moment. He leaned over to kiss Will's forehead, telling him he would be back later. He squeezed Will's hand in goodbye, and then stopped. He looked down and realized he felt a pressure on his hand.

"Will?" He looked at Will's face, but there was no change. Was he imagining it?

But when he squeezed Will's hand again, this time he knew it felt it. Will was squeezing his hand back! He then saw Will's eyes moving rapidly under his eyelids.

"Will? Baby?"

He then heard the beautiful sound of Will groaning. He buzzed the nurses' station, telling them Will was waking up.

His eyes stayed locked on Will's face. "Will? Can you open your eyes for me? It's Sonny."

He placed Ari on the ground in her carrier, deciding it wasn't a good idea to keep holding her and leaning over Will. She cried out for a moment, but then realized something was happening. He gently placed his hand against Will's face and continued encouraging Will to wake up. Dr. Thomas came in and saw what was going on, and immediately began calling to Will.

Finally, the beautiful blue eyes that Sonny has been praying to see for over a week opened. They were unfocused for a moment, just staring and darting around. But when Sonny called out to Will again, his eyes shifted and his face relaxed, instantly focusing in on Sonny. Tears came to Sonny's eyes and he smiled, so unbelievably happy to see Will awake.

"Hi baby."

Will didn't say anything, just stared at Sonny for a moment before taking a deep breath in and closing his eyes again. Dr. Thomas called out to Will, and then shined a light in his eyes to test his reaction. Will squinted, the light distracting him, but his body was so exhausted that he soon drifted off to sleep again. His head turned slightly into Sonny's hand and rested against it, comforted by the fact Sonny was with him. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew if Sonny was there, things would be okay.

Tears ran down Sonny's face and he stepped back to give the doctor room to examine Will. He grabbed the carrier and walked off to the side of the room, his face breaking out into the hugest smile. Will woke up! He recognized him, and he opened his eyes. Sonny felt lighter than he had in a week, and decided that things were going to be okay.

He looked over at Dr. Thomas, who had finished his examination. "He recognized me."

"Yes I believe he did. This is a very good sign, Sonny. He is starting to react to outside stimuli, and the fact that he seem to relax at your voice and recognize you tells us that any brain damage Will may have received may not be as severe as we feared. Nothing is definite, but this is a good sign. Over the next few days, he will most likely continue to wake up for brief moments in time. You don't have to alert us at every moment, but please do keep us informed. When this happens, encourage and engage him, but don't force him to stay awake. His body is exhausted, and it may still be a few days before he truly engages with you. I do want to warn you though to make sure he makes as little movement as possible. We still don't know the full extent of his injuries, but his pelvic fracture is still healing and any jarring could set him back."

Sonny nodded and thanked the doctor. He was taking everything in, but also in a daze about the fact that he actually saw Will wake up. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Ari's cry and realized she needed him to get her fed and cuddled. Reluctantly, he pulled his thoughts away from Will to tend to her needs.

"Okay, sweetie, let's go get you fed."

He kissed Will's head again, promising to come back, before leaving the room. It was so hard to walk away after what he just saw, but he knew it was only the beginning. Dr. Thomas was right in that Will was still tired and needed his rest, and he promised himself he would be back to check on him later.

He took Ari back to the mansion and asked Henderson to prepare some food for her and himself. He got her seated in her highchair and then sat down next to her.

"Okay Ari. You and I are going to eat dinner and then we are going to relax the rest of the night."

Ari didn't say anything, but stared at Sonny. It amazed Sonny how at how much Ari looked like Will, especially in her eyes. She had the same eyes that made Sonny want to fall to his knees and give her anything she wanted. Both she and Will had that power on him. It scared him, but at the same point, he didn't want to fight it. He was done fighting the power that was Will Horton's love. He would do whatever it took to make Will and Ari happy, and bring their family together.

Ari reached out for him and he pulled her out of her highchair and held her close.

"Everything is going to be okay Ari. Your daddy Will is getting better, and you and I are going to make sure he continues to get better okay? No matter what, things will be okay."

Ari's only answer was to snuggle in closer to Sonny. She may not have understood what was actually going on, but she sensed that something good had happened. Her daddy Sonny seemed much happier than he was before, and she really liked that.

When Henderson brought the food back out, Sonny placed Ari back in her chair and began feeding her, intermittently feeding himself as well. He smiled at Ari as she ate her dinner, laughed when she tried to imitate him eating as well. She had been trying to copy the adults around her more and more, and while he loved that she was growing up, he sometimes wished she would stay little forever. He hoped to start getting her around socializing with other children soon, and would do whatever he could to ensure she enjoyed her childhood. Will always talked about the fact that he didn't enjoy his childhood, going back and forth between his parents, and feeling like a prize rather than a kid. Will hated that and refused to let his own child feel that way. Sonny agreed with Will and wanted to make sure Will's wish for Ari would come true.

Adrienne came in a few minutes later, her heart bursting at the sight of her son with Ari. It was still weird to think of Ari as her granddaughter, but Will always encouraged her to say it and think it. According to Will, Sonny was as much Ari's father as he was, so that entitled Adrienne to think of her as her granddaughter.

"Well this is nice to see."

Sonny looked up and smiled at her. She noticed a look on his face, and wondered what it was.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything is great."

She knew something new had happened. She knew that Sonny was happy Will had woken up, but when she spoke to him earlier, he made it seem as if it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Did something else happen at the hospital?"

Sonny nodded. With tears in his eyes, he said, "Will woke up again. And Mom, it was amazing. He looked at me and recognized me!"

Adrienne clapped her hands over her mouth and smiled brightly, hugging her son. "Oh Sonny, I am so happy to hear that." She truly was. Her son was walking around with such a heavy burden of guilt, and she hoped that when Will fully woke up, he would help Sonny begin to let go of all the guilt and stress.

"Thanks. The doctor said Will would probably be in and out of it over the next couple of days, but the fact is that he did recognize me and responded to me."

"Sonny, that is so good to hear."

Sonny nodded, smiling through his tears. She hugged her son close to her, knowing that he was emotional over the fact that his husband was finally starting to wake up. They still had a long road ahead of them, but this was the first step.

After both he and Ari finished eating, Sonny took Ari up to the room he had been sleeping in while he was staying in the mansion. It was large enough that a little play area was set up for Ari and was next to the room Ari was sleeping in. He got Ari ready for bed, but let her play in his room for a while. A part of him wanted to go back to the hospital and sit with Will, but he had a feeling that it was better for him to stay with Ari. He worried that she would begin to get upset with all the changes in her life, since she was now staying in a new place, and her daddy wasn't with them. He knew she was young and could adjust, but he needed to make sure she was okay. He was truly embracing the fact that he was as much Ari's parent as Will and Gabi were, and at the moment he was the only parent she had.

He forced himself not to think too much on the fact that he was Ari's only parent available at the moment. He knew that Will would get better, but the fear crept in about how soon would Will get better. What if he did have brain damage and wouldn't ever go back to being the person he was before? What would happen then?

He knew eventually he would have to make some decisions with Will, or for Will, regarding rehabilitation and recovery. As much as he didn't want to think about it, there would come a point where they needed to talk about the next step. But that moment wasn't now. Sonny forced himself to focus in on what was going on in that moment. He was with his daughter, and Will had woken up. No matter what happened in the next few days or weeks, or what the doctors find as a result of the accident, Sonny wasn't going to go anywhere. His place was with his daughter and Will.

He would make sure everyone in Salem knew that.

_Please review!_


	30. Chapter 30

The next day, Sonny left Ari with his mom, who had offered to take her for the day. She knew this would be a difficult day for Sonny, and that he wanted to be at the hospital with Will. He called over to the club to check on things, but Ben assured him that he had everything under control and would call T if necessary. He also reminded Sonny of his offer to listen if there was anything Sonny needed to talk about. He knew that Sonny felt awkward talking to him since Sonny and Abigail were no longer on good terms, but he knew that when things were tough, you needed people in your corner.

Sonny told Ben he appreciated the offer, but would decline for now. He just wanted to spend the day with his husband. The past two Fridays were awful days, and he had hoped that they were finally past that. He went to the hospital and as soon as he arrived, Melanie came right to him.

"Hey Sonny."

"Hey Mel. Everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, sorry. I actually had more good news to tell you. Will opened his eyes again."

Sonny's face broke into a huge smile. "Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I was in checking on him and he opened his eyes. He didn't say anything, but he kept looking around. He looked at me, but in all honesty, I think he was looking for one person specifically."

Sonny bit his lip. "Really? You think?"

Melanie smiled and nodded again. "Yeah, Sonny, I think he is looking for you."

Sonny looked down, feeling guilty for not being there, but Melanie stopped him.

"Hey, don't look like that. He wouldn't want you here all day and night just watching him. You are doing what you are supposed to do."

Sonny smiled and hugged Melanie, thanking her for telling him and supporting them. She hugged him back then ushered him off to see Will, and said that Dr. Thomas had already been in to check on him.

When he walked into Will's room, he saw Will that wasn't awake, but he reminded himself that he was sleeping, not still in the coma. He was coming out of the coma, and Sonny was going to be there for him. He also saw that the oxygen mask was no longer on Will's face, only a nasal cannula, which was an even bigger improvement. He could actually see Will's whole face now. He sat in the chair next to Will's bed and immediately squeezed his hand, hoping for a response. He again was disappointed, but then berated himself for expecting so much. Will was coming back to him. That was what mattered.

He picked up Will's uninjured hand and kissed it. "Hey baby. Melanie says you opened your eyes again. I'm really happy to hear that."

Sonny sighed and looked around, wishing for some inspiration to talk to Will. "I really hope you open your eyes again today. The past two Fridays have been so crappy that it would really make it better if I could see your eyes and talk to you."

Sonny focused in on Will's face. "Maybe I am hoping for too much. I am so happy you are getting better. I can even see your face now. But I really miss talking to you. It's only been a week and I don't know what to do with myself. I go to the club, but barely stay there longer than an hour or two before I am back here or going to get Ari. She misses you too. She seems to enjoy the mansion, but I worry eventually she is going to start to wonder what happened to you. I've tried to explain to her that you got hurt and need to sleep to get better, but I can tell she needs more. She needs you, just like I need you."

He began to tear up and took a deep breath to focus himself and make sure he doesn't break down again. He feels exhausted, needing his husband with him to be able to get a good night sleep. He looks down at the floor, when all of a sudden, he hears a groan. His eyes shoot back up to Will's face, but he doesn't see anything. He studies his face for a moment and then begins to think he was hearing things, when he hears it again, and this time Will's eyes open.

"Will?"

Will looks around again, unfocused, and Sonny leans up closer to him.

"Will? It's me, baby. It's Sonny."

Will focuses in on Sonny and smiles slightly, sighing, "Sonny."

Sonny feels like that is the most beautiful sound in the whole world when he hears his husband say his name. He feels Will begin to tense and try to move.

"Hey, slow down. It's okay. You were hit by a car, the doctors have given you medicine so you can't move too much."

Will looks around, confused, unable to understand what was going on. Sonny pressed the nurses' button to alert them.

"Hey, I am going to call your doctor, they need to check you over."

Will still looks around, nervous, and slowly reaches out his hand to Sonny's. Sonny grabs his hand, holding it with his.

"Everything is going to be okay. I'm not going anywhere, okay? The doctor just needs to examine you. I promise, I am not leaving."

Will squeezed his hand and relaxed a bit, still confused as to what was going on. He soon realized that his left arm was in a sling and wrapped against his body, and he couldn't move his legs. He didn't understand what had happened. He was pulled from his thoughts when a doctor came into the room.

"Mr. Horton, hello. My name is Dr. Daniel Thomas. I need to examine you and ask you a couple questions. Do you know where you are?"

Will looked around and softly said, "Hospital."

"Yes, you are in the hospital. Do you know what happened?"

Will shook his head slightly, wincing as it hurt.

"Does your head hurt?"

"A little", Will said softly.

"You were hit by a car and had to have emergency surgery to relieve the pressure in your brain."

Will's eyes widened at that. He was _hit by a car?!_

"Mr. Horton, do you know who the man standing next to you is?"

Will looked over at Sonny and smiled.

"Sonny Kiriakis, my husband."

Sonny tearfully smiled at Will. He really did remember and recognize him.

But then his heart sank when Will answered the doctor's next question.

"Do you know what month it is?"

"Um, October."

The doctor stopped and then asked Will, "What year?"

"2014."

Sonny looked at the doctor, concerned

But Dr. Thomas continued on. "What is the last thing you remember?"

Will thought hard. He was writing an article about Chad. Then EJ was murdered, and his mom was devastated. "Um, I think I was in my apartment with Sonny. I think we are arguing?"

He looked over at Sonny, shocked. "Did I call our life boring?"

Sonny remembered that. It was right before Will got the offer to go to L.A. He nodded, in a daze.

"Oh god, Son, I am so sorry. I can't believe I said that."

Tears ran down Sonny's face. How could Will think that little fight mattered? He barely remembered it after everything they had been through. "It's okay, Will."

Will looked at both the doctor and Sonny, understanding that there was more going on than just he was in an accident. "What is going on?"

Sonny looked at the doctor, not sure of what to say. Were you supposed to tell someone who had amnesia that they are wrong on the date?

Thankfully, Dr. Thomas spoke up. "Will, it is actually January 2015. You were hit by a car about a week ago and have been in a coma."

Will's eyes widened again. "What?!"

"We will have to run more tests, but I believe your memory will return. This is very common to happen to people who have had a traumatic brain injury. But before I get into too much, I need to check over a few things."

He ran a few tests, testing Will's strength in his hand and legs, testing if he could feel pressure on his feet, and tested his eye-sight. Sonny was relieved to hear that there was no permanent damage done to his spine, and that while he would need physical therapy, Dr. Thomas believed he would make a full recovery.

"You have an external fixture on your hips, as you fractured your pelvis when the car hit you, but we will be removing that in the next day or two. You also have a broken collar bone. Due to those injuries, we are going to keep you bedridden for now, but in a few days, the physical therapist will come in to evaluate you and determine then steps you need to take for recovery. You do have some weakness in your legs, so when you are able to get up, you will be in a wheelchair for a while, but again, that is temporary."

Will stared at the doctor, completely overwhelmed. He couldn't believe what was going on. He wakes up to find out he had been hit by a car, lost about 3 months of his life, and now he could barely move.

Sonny could see that Will was overwhelmed by this information. Hell, _he_ was overwhelmed, and he wasn't the one who was hit by the car. He squeezed Will's hand and said, "Hey, it's going to be okay. You are going to be okay. We will get through this."

The doctor did a few more examinations, and then asked to speak to Sonny outside. At the thought of Sonny leaving, Will panicked and squeezed Sonny's hand, quietly saying, "No."

Sonny could see the anxiety in Will's eyes. He gently brushed his hand up against Will's face. "The doctor just needs to talk to me for a minute. I promise, I will be right outside and then I will come back in. I'm not going anywhere."

Will was still anxious, but Sonny kept repeating that he would be right back, and finally Will let go of his hand. Sonny worried about the fact that Will seemed so anxious, as well as dealing with amnesia.

Sonny looked at the doctor, unsure of what to say. "Is this normal? I get the forgetting the past few months, but the anxiety as well."

Dr. Thomas nodded. "Yes, unfortunately it is. You have to remember that he had a massive brain trauma. One of the side effects is emotional outbursts and depression. For now, we are just going to monitor him and see how he progresses. I don't want to diagnose anything prematurely. He had done really well in a short period of time. There is a lot of weakness in his legs, but he has feeling in them, so this is good. In a couple of days we will start to try and get him sitting up and moving around to prevent atrophy in his arms and legs."

Sonny sighed. "What about the amnesia?"

"It could also be temporary as well. Encourage him to remember things on his own, don't force it. He obviously recognizes people and remembers things, so for right now we want to keep him calm. Do not overwhelm him with different memories. Let him remember on his own. If he is forced to remember too much too fast, it could be detrimental to his recovery. Also be careful about anything upsetting him. Don't treat him like a child, but at the same point, be conscious of his anxieties. Give him time."

Sonny nodded and thanked the doctor. He couldn't believe that Will was actually awake and talking to him. He knew Will had a long road ahead of him, but this was amazing! He wanted to call someone and tell them, but he didn't want to leave Will alone too long. Once the doctor left, Sonny quickly walked back into Will's room.

Will looked over at Sonny and smiled. Sonny quickly walked over and grabbed Will's hand.

"Hi", Will said softly.

Sonny laughed. "Hi."

"Is it really January 2015?"

Sonny nodded. Will sighed and looked up. "I can't believe I don't remember."

"Hey, it's okay. The doctor said this could be temporary and it will come back to you. But don't worry about that right now. All that matters is you are okay."

Will nodded and sighed. But then another thought popped into his head. "Is Ari okay?"

Sonny smiled. "She is fine. She is with my mom right now at the mansion. We have been staying there since your accident."

Will sighed and looked at the ceiling.

"She has been missing you. Do you want me to call my mom and ask her to bring Ari over?"

"Maybe later."

Sonny nodded. He noticed Will looked really tired. "Why don't you rest for a while? You are probably tired."

Will nodded, and then softly asked, "Stay?"

Tears ran down Sonny's and he immediately leaned over and kissed Will. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise." The kiss was brief, but it felt so perfect to Sonny.

Will's eyes began to droop, but he was fighting going to sleep. For some reason, he was afraid that if he closed his eyes, Sonny would be gone when he woke up.

Sonny gently stroked Will's face, coaxing him to sleep. "I will be here I promise. And if I am not, push this button", he held up the nurses' station button, "and someone will call me or get me. I won't ever be too far away. I promise. Get some rest. Once everyone finds out you are awake, they are going to be rushing over to see you. You need your strength."

Will nodded slightly and finally closed his eyes, his breathing evening out. Sonny continued stroking Will's face, in comfort and security. After a few moments, he leaned back against the chair and sighed. It was barely noon, and already an emotional day. He knew he needed to make a few phone calls, but he wanted to savor the moment first. Will was really awake, and going to be okay, even if he had amnesia.

Suddenly, Sonny realized the implications of the amnesia. Will didn't remember the two of them constantly fighting, their money problems, and he didn't remember Sonny cheating on him. This revelation knocked Sonny back a bit. Will had no idea about what had happened to them over the past few weeks. Will had felt guilty about arguing with Sonny over the fact he once thought that their life was boring. Sonny felt so guilty about that, and a part of him wanted to tell Will. But then he worried that this would set Will back. He was fragile at the moment, so maybe it was not a good idea to tell him. Maybe they could rebuild their relationship, and when Will was stronger, he would tell him.

Sonny wasn't sure what the right thing to do was, but decided that for now, he wouldn't tell Will anything. He would follow the doctor's orders and not tell Will anything, just let him remember on his own. Hopefully by then, he will have earned Will's love and trust back.

He decided to step out and make a few phone calls, and stopped at the nurses' station to tell them where he would be if Will paged them. He went into the main common area and made his calls. He first called his mom to let her know, and ask if she could bring Ari by later. She agreed and told Sonny how happy she was for him. After that, he called Marlena and Lucas. Both said they would come to the hospital later, and Sonny promised to explain more about what the doctor said. He only gave them an overview that Will had amnesia and didn't remember the past few months, so they needed to be careful of what they talked about.

Both Marlena and Lucas asked what Sonny was going to do about the secret of Paul and what happened, but Sonny begged them not to say anything to Will. He promised to eventually tell him, but that the doctor implored Sonny not to push Will or tell him anything too upsetting. That Will's mental state was fragile, and they needed to keep him calm. Marlena and Lucas both agreed right away that they wouldn't say anything, since it sounded like Will needed Sonny at the moment.

After Sonny finished his calls, he immediately returned to Will's room. He knew Will would be fast asleep, but he just wanted to sit in and be with him. He sat down in the chair next to the bed and leaned forward, resting his head against the bed. The relief of knowing Will was wake and going to be okay suddenly made Sonny very tired. He had not been sleeping well for the past two weeks without Will next to him. Before he knew it, his eyes were closed and he was fast asleep, his hand holding Will's.

_Author's Note- Please review. I'm a little unsure of this chapter. Special thank you to aphass for your help with this. Any medical mistakes in regards to injuries or amnesia are mine._


	31. Chapter 31

_So sorry for the late update. I had trouble with this chapter, and working on more drama ahead. I am not sure whether I will have Will regain his memories or not. Special thanks to Love DS for your help with the medical background of this. Please review!_

Adrienne knocked quietly on the door to Will's hospital room and walked in with Ari in her arms, but stopped when she saw both Will and Sonny asleep. Her heart soared when she saw Sonny holding Will's hand. Even though she worried that Sonny would become uncomfortable in the position he was in, he looked like he was finally getting the rest that he needed. She knew he had a difficult time sleeping lately, being in a new place and not knowing when Will would wake up. She hoped that now, he would be able to sleep through the night.

She turned around and went to leave the room when Ari cried out, "Dada!" She could see both of her daddies sleeping in the room, and she wanted to be with them. She didn't understand what was going on most of the time, but she knew something was wrong. She wasn't staying in her normal home, and her daddy Sonny was sad most of the time.

Adrienne tried to quiet Ari down. "Shh, Ari, your daddies are sleeping."

But Ari's cries reached one of her daddies. Adrienne suddenly heard a soft voice, "Ari?"

She turned back and saw Will blinking his eyes, trying to focus them. He gently lifted his head and smiled over at Ari and Adrienne.

"Oh Will, you are awake."

Will smiled. "Hi Adrienne." His eyes then focused on his beautiful little girl and smiled brighter. "Hi baby girl."

Ari smiled and said, "Dada."

As Adrienne brought Ari closer, Will's eyes widened. "Oh my god, she got so big." From his memory, she must have grown at least a few inches and looked like she was getting ready to walk.

Adrienne smiled. "Yes she is growing every day."

Will smiled softly. "Thank you for bringing her by. I can't really sit up or I would reach out to hold her."

Adrienne nodded and grabbed one of the other chairs in the room, sitting on the other side of Will, opposite from Sonny.

"How are you feeling?"

Will sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Sore. Confused."

Adrienne nodded. "I'm sure. This has to be a lot to take in."

Will nodded slightly. "It's just a lot to comprehend."

"Do you remember the accident?"

Will shook his head. "No. The last thing I remember, it was October. But apparently, it is January 2015."

Adrienne nodded and sighed. Sonny had warned her that Will had amnesia and lost almost the past four months. "I'm sure in time those memories will come back."

Will sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He hated the fact that he couldn't remember the past few months of his life. Christmas, New Years, anything major that had gone on, all those were gone from his memories. He then looked down and smiled at Sonny sleeping and holding his hand.

Adrienne smiled at them. "This is the first time in a week that Sonny looks like he has been able to rest."

Will looked back over at her, concerned. "Is he okay?"

"He has been a wreck, worried about you. But I think now he will be better," she looked at Will, "now that you are getting better."

Will stared at her, sensing this had to do with the accident. "The accident was really that bad?"

Adrienne bit her lip, but decided to reveal a little information. "Sonny was there when your accident happened. He saw you get hit by the car."

Will's eyes widened. _Sonny saw him get hit?!_ Will couldn't believe that.

Adrienne sighed. "We were all really worried about you. Sonny was so broken up after seeing what happened. But that doesn't matter now. What matters is that you are recovering now and getting better."

Will sighed and leaned back. He couldn't really think too much about his recovery. It was already so overwhelming to wake up and realize he lost four months of his life, when he had apparently only been asleep for a week. And now he worried about the fact that Sonny had watched him nearly die. He couldn't imagine what he would do if their positions were reversed.

He decided to get away from those thoughts. "I hope my mom hasn't been giving you too hard of a time this past week."

Adrienne smiled. "Your dad has been dealing with her. I think that she has been calling all the time for updates."

Will looked confused. "Calling? I'm surprised that she hasn't stormed into the hospital and been driving everyone crazy."

"Well, I think she wanted to, but Lucas convinced her to stay in L.A. with the kids."

Will began to get confused even further. "L.A.? What is she doing in L.A.?"

Adrienne suddenly realized her mistake. Will did not remember his mom being offered to go to L.A., so had no idea what was going on. She sighed and realized she needed to explain. "Sami was offered a chance to work in Hollywood, I guess on a movie about her life."

Will's eyes widened. His mom was working in Hollywood? He then began to laugh, thinking how much his mom probably belonged in Hollywood.

"My mom must be loving that. God, her life is a Hollywood story sometimes."

Adrienne laughed and nodded. She had to agree that Sami Brady DiMera probably did belong in Hollywood.

Will looked over at Sonny sleeping again. He smiled softly and gently stroked Sonny's hand with his thumb. He felt bad that he had put Sonny through so much turmoil with his accident, especially now knowing Sonny saw the accident. His head began to ache as he thought about what his family had been put through with all this.

Adrienne looked with concern as she saw Will begin to squint in pain. "Will, are you okay?"

Will moaned in pain, and Adrienne pressed the nurses' buzzer. A nurse immediately came in and saw Will was in pain. She called for the doctor, who administered a round of pain meds to help Will. The commotion and Will squeezing Sonny's hand in pain caused Sonny to wake up and look around. He immediately began trying to calm Will down. Adrienne gently rubbed Will's shoulder to help soothe him as the medicine took effect. Eventually, Will drifted back off to sleep.

Sonny looked over at his mom. "What happened?"

"I don't know. We were just talking, and then he began to moan in pain."

Dr. Thomas turned to look at her. "What were you talking about?"

"We talked about his memory loss, and he asked about his mom. I told him how she was in Hollywood, and what she was doing."

Sonny looked over to the doctor, hoping he could provide some answers.

"I don't believe there is anything to worry about. This is very normal. His body is still weak, and the headache probably came from a combination of stress and anxiety."

Both Adrienne and Sonny still looked concerned, so Dr. Thomas continued. "Like I said, it is very normal. We will need to keep track of his headaches, to ensure nothing else is wrong, but for now, don't worry. I believe he just needs some rest and quiet. I still want to keep the visitor restrictions to family only, to make sure he doesn't have too much excitement. But please, don't worry."

They thanked the doctor, and then he left the room with the nurse. Adrienne turned to Sonny. "I'm sorry if I upset Will."

But Sonny shook his head. "No, Mom, you heard the doctor. It was no one's fault. He was really anxious when he woke up, and I think realizing he can't remember the past few months is hard for his to accept."

Sonny rubbed his face, his body no longer tired. He quickly realized that Adrienne was holding Ari with her, and he smiled.

"Hey hunny. Were you visiting Daddy Will?"

Ari just smiled and reached out towards Sonny. He immediately crossed over and gathered Ari in his arms. He was glad that his mom brought Ari to see Will, and hoped Will got to see her for a bit before his headache took over.

"Did Ari get to spend any time with Will?"

"Only a few minutes. We came in, and you both were sleeping. But Ari called out to Will, and I guess that woke Will up. We talked for a few minutes before his headache happened, but he did get to see her. I think he wanted to hold her, but knew he couldn't."

Sonny nodded and bounced Ari in his arms. Ari seemed happy to be there, happy to see her daddy awake and now in her other daddy's arms. Sonny didn't think he was asleep for long, but it was deep enough that it felt good. He was a little stiff, but honestly didn't care. It felt good to be able to talk to Will and sleep semi next to him.

"Sonny, are you hungry? Ari hasn't eaten lunch yet, and I'm guessing you haven't either."

Sonny shook his head, and agreed to grab some lunch with his mom and Ari. He kissed Will's forehead and quietly promised to be back later. He then left the room with his mom and Ari.

About an hour later, Sonny came back into Will's room. His mom took Ari back with her, telling Sonny she would either keep her or drop her off with the baby-sitter. He told her he appreciated all her help, and then went in to sit with Will. Will was still sleeping with Sonny first entered, but when Sonny sat down, Will seem to sense someone in the room and opened his eyes.

"Hey", Sonny quietly said.

Will turned his head to look at Sonny and smiled. "Hey."

"How are you feeling?"

"A little better. Still a little tired."

Sonny held on to Will's hand. "You can sleep some more if you need."

Will gently shook his head. "I'm okay."

He intertwined their fingers, and Sonny brought them to his lips and kissed Will's hand.

"Where is Ari?"

"My mom took her back with her. I just had lunch with them. She was happy to see you."

Will smiled, thinking about Ari. "I was glad to see her too. I'm sorry I couldn't see her longer."

"You will, I promise. I will bring her back every day to see you."

"Sonny, you don't need to do that. I appreciate and love that you are here with me, but you have other things to take care of as well. You don't have to be here."

Sonny gently stroked the side of Will's face. "Hey, stop. The only place I have to be is next to you. Everything else can wait."

"But what about the club?"

"T and Ben are handling the club. Chad also said he would step in if they needed, but so far they have handled it."

Will sighed. "I just don't want you to feel like you have to be here."

"Will, I _have_ to be with you. There is no choice. I don't care about anything else."

"Sonny, I am going to be in the hospital for a long time. We don't know when I am going to get out of here, or in what condition."

"Hey, hey, don't worry about that. That doesn't matter to me. You are alive. And you will get better. Even if I have to call in doctors from all over the world, you will get better. You are going to heal and get your strength back in no time. And throughout all that, and even after, I am going to be here."

Will slowly reached up his hand and cupped Sonny's face. He gently pulled Sonny towards him and they kissed, so softly and sweetly that tears began to run down Sonny's face. They broke apart, only to kiss again, this time a little deeper.

Sonny broke the kiss and whispered, "I have missed you."

Will closed his eyes and smiled. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

Sonny sat back down but continued to hold Will's hand. "You have no idea how scared I was."

"I heard you saw what happened."

Sonny nodded. "I don't think I could ever forget that."

"What happened?"

Sonny swallowed hard. He didn't want to talk about the accident, because he didn't want to answer all the questions he knew would come up.

Will noticed how pale Sonny got, and decided to stop it. "Hey, it's okay. You don't need to tell me if you don't want to."

Sonny took a deep breath. "No it's okay. I just don't like thinking about it." He turned away from Will, and then began again. "We were in front of the Brady Pub. You went out into the street and a car came from out of nowhere, speeding down. It hit you and you collapsed on the ground." Tears came running down his face, but he still couldn't look at Will. "I was so scared. I thought you were dead. There was blood everywhere, and you were not moving. I remember pleading with you to just wake up and tell me you were okay."

He finally turned back to Will, and Will could see the pain in Sonny's eyes. He wished he could sit up or do something, but all he could do was reach out his hand towards Sonny. Sonny grabbed his hand and Will pulled him closer.

"Hey, I'm here and I'm okay."

Sonny laughed, hearing Will say the words he wanted to hear the day of the accident. He pushed the railing of the bed down and sat on the open space next to Will. Will curled his hand on Sonny's thigh, anchoring him to the bed.

Will decided to try and talk about something different. "So, anything good happen these past few months? Your mom told me that my mom moved to Hollywood."

Sonny smiled. "Yeah she did. She seems to fit in real well." He paused, trying to think of something good that had happened. "I got an ornament this year for Christmas."

Will smiled brightly. "Really?"

Sonny smiled and brought his phone out. He pulled up a picture of the ornament and showed that to Will. He smiled at the joy that Will showed on his face, knowing how happy they both were that Sonny finally got his ornament.

Will's smile fell a bit. "I wish I could remember that."

Sonny stroked his face. "You will, just give it time. And if you don't, it doesn't matter. I can fill in any blanks you need, and the rest we will leave behind. We can make new memories going forward."

Sonny knew it was unfair, but a part of him didn't want Will to remember everything right away. He felt close to Will for the first time in months. Would that all change when all of Will's memories come back? Is it really wrong for Sonny to be happy that Will doesn't remember what has happened these past few months?

He leaned down and kissed Will again. "Besides, what happened isn't really important right now. You getting better is what matters."

Will smiled and stroked Sonny's back, pulling him back for another kiss.


	32. Chapter 32

The next day, the doctors checked Will over and determined they could remove the external fixture on Will's hips to allow him to begin moving them again. They started to do quick tests to evaluate his strength and movement, and while he had feeling in his legs, they were really weak and needed exercise to build up his strength. He was also moved from the ICU into a regular private room, allowing him more freedom as he started physical therapy. He still had to keep his arm in the sling and wrapped against his body as his collar bone was still healing, which forced him to not be able to work on standing or using weights to build up his strength. Most of his exercises would probably be in a sitting or lying down position.

As the doctors got him settled in his new room, Melanie came in to see Will. Since he was no longer in the ICU, she was able to be his nurse during her shifts.

"Hi Will."

"Melanie! Hi! What are you doing here?"

"I'm actually assigned as your nurse on this floor."

Will was confused. "Wait, you work here now? I thought you were in Europe."

Melanie realized that Will didn't remember her coming back.

"I decided to move back. I missed my dad and Maggie, so I thought this was a good time to move back."

"Oh." Will paused, and then continued. "Well, it's good to see you. I'm glad you came back."

Melanie smiled. "Me too. I also really glad you are getting better. Please let me know if you need anything."

Will thanked her and then leaned back into the bed as she left. Moving into another room took a lot of energy out of him, even though he was really only moving from one bed to another, and he felt exhausted. But a part of him was too anxious to go to sleep. He wanted to wait for Sonny to show up.

He hated the fact that he had so much anxiety now. The doctors explained that because of his head trauma and the accident, he may deal with anxiety and emotional outbursts, and this was going to be more prevalent now since he had only just woken up. Will wanted to prove them all wrong, that he would be okay after his accident, and didn't need people coddling him. But there were times when he did need it. The only person who seemed to make the anxiety better was Sonny. His husband had such a soothing touch that Will felt like nothing could hurt him when Sonny was there. He felt so lucky, and at the same time, hated being so reliant on Sonny to get through the day. He wanted to be independent.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a knock on the door and smiled at Lucas, Kate and Marlena walked in.

"Hey", he said to all of them and carefully hugged each one of them with his good arm as they came to him.

They all smiled. "We are so happy to see you awake." Kate said.

Lucas chimed in. "You really scared us, kiddo."

Will shrugged. "Sorry."

Marlena jumped in. "Oh hunny, it's not your fault. We are just so thankful you are getting better."

Will sighed. "I am nowhere near better yet."

Kate stood next to him and held his good arm. "But you will get there. You are strong Will. You can get all your strength back. Rafe did. You can too."

Marlena added in, "And you have all of us to support you. We aren't going anywhere."

Will wanted to comment about the fact that it wasn't any of them stuck in the bed, but decided to pull away from this train of thought. It was only going to make his anxiety worse. He thought quickly and went with a topic that was sure to bring a little humor to the group.

"Has mom been driving you crazy?"

Lucas laughed. "You know your mom. She wants all the information all the time. But she has been worried about you."

Will smiled. "I heard she is enjoying L.A."

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, she seems to be in her element there. Last time I heard she was bossing all the studio execs around, making them cater to her every whim. The kids are enjoying it as well."

Will laughed, glad to hear that. He always worried about his little brother and sisters, and hoped that now they would be able to get the childhood he never had.

Kate chimed in, curious about where he got the information about Sami. "Did you remember your mom in L.A.?"

Will shook his head. "No. The last thing I remember was right after EJ died. Adrienne accidentally told me she was in L.A. after I asked about her."

Will sighed and looked up at the ceiling, his anxiety starting to creep in again. "It's weird."

"What is?"

"Having no memory of these past few months. It's weird thinking about the fact that it is January 2015, when I keep thinking it is October. Things seem so different now, and I just wish I could catch up."

Marlena spoke up this time. "Will, you will get there. Those memories are not important right now."

"I'm just afraid I am forgetting something important. Is Ari walking already? Did anything major happen?"

"Ari is starting to try to walk, but isn't there yet. And nothing too important happened. Your mother moved to L.A., but other than that, it doesn't matter."

The three had agreed beforehand to not mention anything to Will about what had happened to his marriage over the past few months. Sonny had indicated that the doctors wanted them to be careful about what they told Will, as his anxiety was still high and they wanted to slowly help him remember, if he ever did remember.

Lucas decided to bring up Sonny. "Has Sonny been by today?"

Will shook his head. "Not yet, but I think he will after lunch. He was here late with me last night, so I am hoping he will sleep in today. He also needs to check in with work."

"He has been so worried about you."

"I know. And it shows me how lucky I am to have him in my life. But I don't want him to get stressed out over worrying about me. At least I don't have to worry about Ari. Sonny is so great with her."

"Will, I don't think there is anything you can do to stop Sonny from worrying about you. He loves you, sweetie. It has been so hard for him to see you here in the hospital and not be able to do anything to help you."

"You are right." A voice said from behind them. "And nothing is going to stop me from worrying and wanting to be there with you, Will."

The group turned and saw Sonny standing there with Ari in one hand and a bag in the other. Will smiled as Sonny walked over and leaned down to kiss him hello. The other three decided to leave since Sonny was there, and promised to be back and visit with Will.

Sonny dropped the bag he was carrying and pulled the chair next to the bed closer to Will. "Hey."

"Hi. I'm glad you are here."

"No place would I rather be."

Will smiled at Ari. "Hey baby girl. Did you have a good morning with daddy?"

The comment threw Sonny, as it made him think about when Will finally came back to the apartment after staying away since finding out about Sonny cheating. He had been the one to make the comment then, and under much different circumstances. He shook those thoughts from his head and focused in on what was going on in the moment. Ari babbled happily at seeing her daddy awake and reach out for Will. Wanting to hold her close, he gently moved to the side of his bed where his bad arm was and made room for Ari to sit next to him, indicating to Sonny that he could put her on the bed.

"Are you sure? I don't want her to hurt you."

Will shook his head, telling Sonny it would be fine. Sonny carefully situated Ari in the space next to Will and pulled the rail up so she wouldn't fall out. It was a little tight, but like the good child she was, Ari quietly sat next to her dad and got comfortable, curling against his side as he wrapped his arm around her.

Sonny smiled at the picture in front of him. "She really missed you."

Will kissed the top of Ari's head. "I missed her too. But I am sure she was just as happy to be with you. She probably didn't notice I wasn't there."

Sonny's smile dropped. "Of course she did. She may be happy with me, but she still looks for you."

Both Will and Sonny thought back to when Will had returned from Berkeley, and how he had said that Ari probably hadn't noticed him gone with Sonny there, and Sonny had told him that they were both happier when Will was with them. Will smiled again at Sonny and intertwined their fingers together.

"The only thing missing in this bed is you."

Sonny laughed. "I don't think there is any room for me. But soon enough, I promise you, you and I are going to be sitting in bed together with Ari."

Will smiled. "I look forward to it." He paused for a moment, and then asked, "Have you guys had lunch yet?"

"No, actually and that reminds me of this." Sonny reached for the bag on the floor. "Dr. Thomas wants to start introducing food into your system, so I thought that when they bring your food to you, we could all have lunch together."

At that moment, Melanie and Dr. Thomas came in with a small tray, catching the end of their conversation.

"How are you feeling, Will?"

"Okay, a little sore, but otherwise okay."

"Good. Now, as Sonny just said, I would like to start introducing food into your system. For right now, it is only liquids, as you are not up yet and still have the catheter in. But if you respond well, and begin getting up and moving, we will start to move into more solid foods."

Melanie placed the small tray on the table for Will, and Will and Sonny thanked the doctor as he left. Sonny brought the table closer to Will so he could reach the broth and juice, and then placed the food for Ari on the table as well.

As the three began eating, Will smiled over at Sonny. "What?" Sonny asked, curious at the look of contentment on Will's face.

Will shrugged. "Feels like when Ari and I used to come to the club to eat while you were working. Like a little date."

Sonny smiled at that, but when Will turned back to eat some broth, his face fell as he thought about when he and Will decided to try and do something like this after Sonny cheated on him. Back when they were trying to repair their relationship before the accident.

Will looked back at Sonny and saw he looked upset. "Hey, you okay?"

Sonny looked back at Will. "Yeah."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Will groaned. "Sonny, I know something is wrong. Tell me."

Sonny sighed. "I guess it just hit me that we may have not gotten the chance to do this again. And how we had started to take for granted all the little things that are important to our relationship. I want to get back to doing that. Doing things like this, eating together, either at home, the club, or even the Pub, and just spending quality time together. I want to get back to doing that."

Will smiled at that, but then looked at Sonny in contemplation. "Sonny, did something else happen besides the accident?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you seem upset and it makes me wonder if something else is going on."

Sonny knew Will would be able to read him, and he hated keeping this from him. But he also knew that Will was still fragile now, and if he revealed everything, Will could be set back.

"I guess the accident just made me think and hope that you knew how much I love you and need you. That I don't know what I would do without you."

Will smiled softly at Sonny. "Of course I know that. Like I said yesterday, I am not going anywhere. And I hope you know how much I love and need you. My life is so much better with you in it." He then looked down at his daughter staring back at him. "Along with Miss Arianna Grace here of course."

Sonny smiled and leaned up to kiss Will. He wanted to kiss him passionately, to show all the love he had for his husband, but with Ari there, he needed to settle for a sweet kiss. He then sat back down and finished eating, helping Ari eat as well, while Will slowly ate the broth and mostly just watched Sonny and Ari together. Will knew that something was bothering Sonny, but he didn't know what it was.

As he laid back, a new thought occurred to him. "Do I still work for _Sonix_?"

Sonny stopped and looked at Will. "What?"

Will repeated his question. "Do I still work for _Sonix_? Does Zoe know about the accident?"

Sonny shrugged. "I don't know. You actually quit a day or two before the accident happened."

Will's eyes widened. "I did?! Why?"

Sonny sighed. "You told me that they wanted you to get close to someone to use for an article and convince them to come out, because you were gay and could flirt or possibly seduce him. You didn't like that they were using you like that, and refused to do it. We had started talking about your work, and you said that you were thinking about leaving anyway."

Will was still confused. He wanted to leave his job? "I wanted to leave? Why?"

"We had only started talking about this right before your accident. I guess people have still been giving you a hard time over the article about your mom, EJ and Abigail, and then after our fight about the article with Chad, you said you felt like people didn't support you. And then when you found out that Zoe was only using you because you were gay, you felt betrayed and said you wanted to quit."

Will sighed and looked up at the ceiling. It was true that he had felt like Sonny didn't support him at times with the articles he had written, but for him to quit? It seems so unlike him. He wanted to prove that he could be successful and could support his family as well. Then again, if he found out he was being used only because he was gay, and not because he was a good writer, he could see how he would have felt betrayed and he would have refused to work for them again.

While he loved writing and seeing his name in print, deep down he knew he couldn't trust Zoe Browning. It doesn't really surprise him that she used him to do whatever she wanted. But she had offered him a great opportunity, and she had made him feel like he earned it himself, not because someone else asked for him to get it.

"What was the story she wanted me to do?"

Sonny lied and pretended he didn't know. "I don't know. You had signed a confidentiality agreement saying no one would know about the story, and so you never told me."

"Oh. I wonder who it was and if they got someone else to do the story."

Sonny again lied and shrugged. "It doesn't really matter anyway. Zoe was using you and didn't care about your talent." There was a nagging voice telling him that these lies were going to haunt him in the end, but Sonny just couldn't bring himself to tell the truth right now. Even if he gave out a little bit of information, Will would want to only learn more. He told himself that when Will was a little stronger, he would admit everything and show Will the article. But he needed time to prove that Will's insecurities were wrong about them.

Will sensed there was more to this story, but decided to let it go for now. There was something nagging at him, but he wasn't sure what it was. Sooner or later he would figure it out. For now, he decided to just let it go.

When they finished eating, Sonny cleaned everything up and Ari curled back against Will, tired and ready for a nap. Will understood how she felt.

"Is she okay next to you?"

Will nodded. "Yeah, she is okay."

"I think she likes being with you."

They both smiled at that. "I like being with her too." He looked up at Sonny. "I like being with you as well."

"All in good time, mister." They both smiled at the memory of those words and kissed.

Will smiled down at Ari and stroked the side of her arm as she fell asleep next to her daddy.

"Are you tired?"

Will shook his head, causing Sonny to laugh. "Liar. Take a nap if you want."

"I don't want to. I like talking to you."

"I will still be here later to talk to you."

"But I feel like I have missed so much. I don't want to sleep and miss anything else."

Sonny just smiled at that. "Do you know when you start physical therapy?"

Will shook his head. "When I was moved here, they told me it would be relatively soon. Which I am happy about because I can start moving out of this bed. And take a shower. And get this catheter out."

"I can help you with the shower part." Sonny said suggestively.

Will laughed. "Easy, don't think I am quite up for that just yet. But it will be nice when we can."

"Yes it will be. But don't push yourself too hard too fast. Remember, you only just woke up out of a coma after a major trauma. Your body needs time to heal, and if you push too hard too quickly, you could set yourself back even further."

Will sighed. "I know. But I hate just sitting still and doing nothing. Besides, the sooner I start, the sooner I can come home to you and Ari."

"And you will. I promise you, Ari and I are not going anywhere. You can take all the time in the world you need. I'm here."

Sonny sealed that promise with another kiss.

_Please review!_


	33. Chapter 33

The next week went by very similarly. Sonny brings Ari by in the morning and has lunch with Will, and then someone comes by to pick up Ari while Will has physical therapy. Sonny stays and watches encouragingly, sometimes even participating in the therapy. Will tells him that he doesn't need to, but Sonny only kisses him with a smile and tells him to shut up. Sonny tells him that he wants to be there, and figures it will be helpful to know the exercises that will help Will for when Will can be released. Will can only smile at that.

Sonny is really only away from the hospital when he takes Ari to visit Gabi, and when he sees Dr. Greenberg. She offers to come in and speak with Will, but Sonny declines, knowing that Will may not be as receptive. Since Will has no memory of the recent problems in their marriage, Sonny doesn't want anything to trigger the memories too quickly. A nagging voice in his head warns him that he can't keep Will in the dark forever, but he pushes that aside.

Physical Therapy is a huge struggle for Will. He doesn't consider himself an athlete, but he used to be active. He likes to go walking or running, playing basketball or baseball, and so to not be able to move takes a real toll on his psyche. It is incredibly frustrating to not be able to barely be able to lift your legs, or to be able to twist into comfortable positions on the bed. The nurses try to help, but there are times when Will wants to yell and scream and throw something to let out his aggravation. He hates being stuck in the hospital bed or in a wheelchair when he is able to be. The muscle cramps are the worst, and even a deep massage doesn't always help enough.

His aggravation and frustrations make his anxiety worse. He feels like a caged animal, and what is worse, he feels like he is becoming a burden to Sonny. No matter what Sonny says, Will worries that Sonny will eventually feel like Will isn't worth it, and will leave him. He keeps his anxieties from Sonny and tries to encourage Sonny to go out, and not spend all his time in the hospital with him. He knows that Bena dn T have offered to take Sonny out for the night, but Sonny declines every time it is brought up. It is very similar to when Will was encouraging Sonny to go out the summer right after Ari was born.

But Sonny is on to Will. He knows that Will is incredibly frustrated and anxious about getting out of the hospital. He also knows Will's fears. He isn't sure though how he can completely show Will how committed he is to being there for Will. While there are days when he is exhausted and stressed, most of the time he is just incredibly grateful that Will survived the accident and is getting better. He realizes how much of a gift it is to have someone in his life that loves him and is committed to him. He can't believe he ever doubted or forgot that for a moment, and he wants Will to know that he is committed to him. So if he has to spend time away from the club, so be it. His business doesn't matter anymore.

Dr. Thomas becomes concerned about Will's anxiety after that week. While his physical progress is looking good, he worries that Will is not truly processing what happened to him. With the memory loss, Will still has no recollection of the past few months, and despite the fact that everyone has assured him that nothing of significance has happened, Will keeps having a nagging feeling that it has. He tries to push for more information, but no one gives any. He can see flickers of pain and guilt when Will asks about things that happened across Sonny's face, but no one gives him anything.

He starts to get some shocking information when he talks to his mom on the phone after a week and a half, and it sets him back emotionally. He starts off by assuring her he is okay, and recounts everything about physical therapy and things going on, when she stops him and can tell he is frustrated.

"I just hate being in the hospital all the time. I want to get out of here."

Sami sighs. "I know sweetie. But these things take time. Your body went through a huge trauma."

"Yes, everyone keeps reminding me of that. But no one understands how frustrating it is."

Sami thinks for a moment, and then says, "Rafe went through this. Maybe you could talk to him."

Will sighs. He really hasn't seen Rafe all that much. "I guess."

Sami knows she needs to keep Will upbeat, and thinks maybe it would help to give him something to look forward to. "What if, when you get better, you plan a trip to come out here and visit? The weather will be really nice and it will be a lot less stressful than the last time you were here. Sonny could even come too."

Will thinks about it, and to him that does sound really nice. Like a little family vacation. But then he stops. The last time he was there? When was that? "What do you mean a lot less stressful than the last time I was there?"

"Well, you won't be trying to write a script and deal with the studio…" Sami trails off, suddenly realizing her mistake. Will didn't remember going to L.A. and trying to work for the studio.

"Write a script? Deal with the studio? What are you talking about?"

"Um… nothing, don't worry about it."

"No, Mom, tell me what you are talking about. When was I working for a studio?"

Sami sighs, realizing she can't just leave her son with no information. So she reveals that when she received the offer for Hollywood, the execs also wanted Will to come. They read his article and felt he would be perfect as a writer. So he and Ari went and left Salem. Will is shocked to find out he was willing to leave Sonny behind for six months. _Six months?!_ And then he hears that he struggled the entire time and ended up being fired after a month, so he went back home with his tail between his legs, and didn't want anyone to know.

He ended the call with his mom in stunned silence. He can't believe no one told him about him going to L.A., but then he thinks it is because no one wanted him to know he was a failure. This causes him to wonder what else people are keeping from him. Everyone claimed that nothing substantial happened over the past four months, but him going to L.A. seems like a really big deal to Will. Weren't people proud of him for going and trying to be successful?

Suddenly, a memory came back to him. He was sitting in the park with Sonny, who was confronting him over lying about why he came home, and Will admitting he got fired and didn't want to tell anyone. He laid back against the bed, breathing deeply and trying to calm his racing heart. He began to get another headache as a feeling of dread came over him. Did him going to L.A. cause problems in his marriage to Sonny?

He pressed the nurses button as the pain in his head increased. When Melanie came in to check on Will, she saw he was in pain and immediately gave him a shot of pain medicine to help. The medicine quickly took effect, and the stress and pain lines in Will's face began to go away as he relaxed.

He looked over at Mel standing next to him and whispered, "Thanks."

"Of course. Can you tell me what happened?"

Will only whispered out "memory" as he relaxed further and began to drift off to sleep, his body overtaxed after the distressing phone call and memory. Melanie's eyes widened as she realized that Will was telling her he remembered something. That something was obviously not a good memory. She wrote a note on Will's chart and paged Dr. Thomas to let him know about what had happened.

Sonny and Ari both entered the hospital in a good mood. They had just come back from visiting Gabi, and Gabi was really happy to hear how well Will was doing. She was sad he couldn't visit her quite yet, but the doctors were not ready to let Will venture out so far. His immune system was still weak, and he didn't have the strength to make a long trip out. Will wasn't happy about it, as he felt cooped up in the hospital. They were hoping to revisit the issue in a few weeks.

When he entered Will's room, he saw Will was fast asleep. This was unusual, as even though he was tired after physical therapy, Will usually had enough energy to last throughout the day. '_Maybe physical therapy was a little more strenuous today'_ he thought to himself. Will did look upset or worn out in his sleep.

Carrying Ari back out of the room, he walked over to the nurses' station where Melanie and Maxine were.

"Hey Melanie."

"Sonny, hi. Hi Ari."

Ari stayed curled up against Sonny's shoulder, tired from her day of seeing her mom.

"I was just coming to check on Will and saw he was asleep. I was wondering if everything was okay."

Melanie and Maxine looked at each other, and Maxine said, "I think you should talk to Dr. Thomas."

That began to send off further warning bells in Sonny's mind. "What happened?"

"Sonny, I really think…"

"No, tell me what happened. Is Will okay?"

A voice called out behind Sonny. He turned and saw Dr. Thomas walking up to them. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Will?"

Dr. Thomas pulled Sonny away from the nurses' station and closer to Will's room. "Everything is okay. We think Will is starting to get his memory back."

Sonny took a deep breath. "Really? But why did Melanie and Maxine look so nervous? Isn't that a good thing?" '_Unless'_ he thought '_the memory was not a good one. Did he remember Sonny cheating on him?'_

"Yes it is, but we are concerned because of Will's reaction to it. His body became extremely stressed out. We don't know what he remembered, but it concerns us that he almost had a panic attack over it."

Sonny bit his lip and sighed deeply. "Do you think it was a bad memory?"

"It's possible. While Will has been progressing physically, I am concerned about his mental state. Patients who experience the kind of trauma that Will did can have delayed reactions. I would like him to eventually start talking to a counselor or psychologist to deal with the different changes that have happened in his life, and also start to decipher the memories he gets. When a person's memory returns, it can be distorted or random, and Will is going to need help understanding the memories he has."

Sonny hesitated, and then said, "Will and I had been having a tough time before the accident. If he is remembering some of those things, he may not want to talk to me."

"Sonny, he needs all the support he can get. He may push you away, but despite whatever problems you have, he needs people who love and support him around."

Dr. Thomas then left to check on another patient, leaving Sonny to stand outside Will's room, fearful of going back inside. He doesn't know what Will remembered, and hates that fact that he wasn't here when it happened. He wanted to laugh at the fact that it always seemed as if new developments happen when he is away from Will.

He suddenly feels the overwhelming need to talk to someone. He still goes to counseling, and has another appointment coming, but so much of his time lately has been wrapped up in spending time with Will and taking care of Ari that he has barely thought about anything else. Normally he would call his dad or his mom, but he isn't sure he is going to get what he needs from any of them. He needed someone who wouldn't placate him, or tell him things were going to be okay. He needed someone to actually listen to him, someone who knew him well, and might be able to understand his side of the story. Dr. Greenberg did do that, but he needed someone else.

Still holding Ari with one hand, he pulled his phone out of his pocket with the other. Pulling up his contact list, he quickly fired off a text.

'_Is your offer for drinks still available? I'd like to take you up on it.'_

Putting his phone back in his pocket, he quietly went back into Will's room. Will was still asleep, and he could feel Ari dozing off in his arms. He carefully sat down on the chair next to the bed, grateful it was actually more comfortable than the one in the ICU. He could recline back slightly, and readjusted to make sure Ari was comfortable. As he got himself situated, he felt a buzzing in his pocket.

Pulling out his phone, he realized it was a reply message from Ben. _'Of course. Want to come to the club, or should I meet you at the mansion?'_

Quickly replying back that he would meet Ben at the club and thanking him, he then sighed and leaned back in the chair. His mind began to drift, thinking about everything that was going on, when he heard a shuffling in the bed. He looked over and saw Will's eyes blinking awake.

"Hey", he said quietly, not wanting to cause Will any pain.

Will turned his head towards Sonny and smiled. "Hey, you are back."

"Yeah, we just got here a little while ago."

"How's Gabi?"

Sonny smiled. "She is good. Says hi and that she misses you, but is glad you are getting better."

"I miss her too." Will then yawns; sleep still flowing through his body. "Sorry I was asleep when you got here."

"It's okay, you needed it." Sonny hesitates, but realizes he needs to face this. "Dr. Thomas said you got stressed out after remembering something."

Will looks at him confused, but then the day comes back to him. He averts his eyes away from Sonny, causing Sonny to suspect the worst.

"What? What did you remember?" Sonny needs to know. He needs to know what Will remembered so they could deal with it.

"Did I really go to L.A.?"

Sonny stops. That was his memory?

"Sonny?"

Sonny shakes his head, and looks back at Will. "Yeah, you did. When your mom got the offer to go to L.A., they wanted you to go as well, and you jumped on it."

"Why didn't you tell me about it?"

Sonny hesitated, unsure of what to say. But Will interpreted what he wasn't telling him. "You were angry that I went."

Sonny sighed and nodded. Will nodded and looked at the ceiling with tears in his eyes. "What else don't I remember?"

Sonny knew this was his opening. He could be honest, and tell Will everything. Explain how he felt, and that he was so sorry he cheated and almost threw their marriage away. He could beg Will to give him a chance, to show that he only loves Will, and that they can get back to where they were before.

"After our fight, and you feeling like our life was boring, I wasn't sure what to do. Then you come with this huge announcement, and I didn't know what to say. It seemed like no matter what, you were determined to go. When you left, I honestly felt abandoned. You got this amazing opportunity, and while I wanted to be happy for you, I couldn't. You were unhappy with things here, and you said our life was boring. And then when you were in L.A., I could never get a hold of you. The one time we did talk on the phone, you were angry because you were stressed and everyone was on your case about being away from me."

Will didn't look at Sonny, but Sonny knew he was listening. "When you came back, I was so happy. And I actually thought that you were back because you missed me. Maybe that was a big part of it. But what you didn't tell me was that you had been fired. And it felt like such a slap in the face, like you were not actually back for me, but because you had no other option."

Both were crying now, and Sonny knew he had to keep going. "Tension began building up between us." This was it. The moment he was going to be honest. "But I realize now that it didn't matter. I should have been happier for you and supported you. I know you felt suffocated at times here, and you just wanted to prove to everyone how good you could be. I didn't tell you because I didn't want those feelings to come back. When you woke up, you seemed like yourself again. You carried such this heavy burden after L.A. that I was so happy to see it gone."

Sonny sat back and watched Will. He knew that he had chickened out. He had a chance to tell Will everything, and he let it go by. But he just couldn't tell Will. Will looked so devastated at the thought that they had been angry with each other. How could he tell Will that things were so bad between them that Sonny had cheated on Will?

He couldn't. Not yet anyway. He just needed a little more time for Will to recover, and get his strength. He promised himself he would tell Will, eventually. He just needed to show Will how good they could be again.

Will sighed and finally looked over at Sonny. "I remembered you and I fighting after you found out I had been fired. I was ashamed that I couldn't cut it, and didn't want anyone to know that I failed. I actually don't remember going to L.A., my mom was the one who told me."

Sonny groaned. _Thank you, Sami._ But he realized this was good. He knew eventually Will was going to find these things out.

"I'm sorry I kept it from you. I just didn't know how you would react."

"You were trying to protect me."

Sonny nodded. "I know what you are going to say. I can't keep doing that. But I can't help it. It is so instinctual for me to want to protect you from anything bad. You have just had to deal with so much, and Dr. Thomas told us that you needed space to remember on your own, that we shouldn't tell you or force the memory."

Will nodded, not completely happy but understanding. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

Sonny shook his head. "Nothing important right now."

_Author's note- I know everyone is waiting for the big showdown and the reveal, but please bear with me a little longer. I promise it is coming. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, I can't believe I have over 200!_


	34. Chapter 34

"So how bad did things get?"

Sonny looks up at Will, startled. They had sat for a few moments in silence, neither sure what to say, when Will finally spoke up.

"What do you mean?"

Will sighed and stared at the ceiling. "You said that there was a lot of tension between us before the accident, and now I seem like myself again. I just want to know how bad things were."

Sonny took a deep breath and decided to reveal a little more. "You and I had a lot of disagreements and miscommunications. The club has been struggling, and I had tried to open a new club that failed."

Will finally looked over at Sonny. He ached at how hurt Sonny looked. "I'm so sorry. But that is not your fault."

"I didn't do enough research into the building and got taken advantage of. On top of that, Chad is no longer truly interested in being business partners anymore. He screwed me over."

"Are you serious?"

Sonny nodded. "So a lot of my frustrations I began to take out on you. We were drifting apart and having a lot of financial problems." _And my ex-boyfriend came to town and I slept with him and told you I was in love with him._ Sonny shook that thought from his head. "But, before the accident, we started talking about our problems, and realized that we needed help. We decided to start seeing a marriage counselor."

Will's eyes widen at that. They were in _marriage counseling?_ "What?"

Sonny looked Will in the eye and nodded. "We started seeing a counselor. That is actually where I have been going every Thursday afternoon. Most people don't know, only your dad, your grandma Marlena, and my parents. Marlena was the one who recommended the counselor we are seeing, Dr. Greenberg."

Will took a deep breath and let it out, trying to process this information. So they were seeing a counselor. "Is our marriage in that much trouble?"

Sonny reached out for Will's hand. "It's not as bad as it sounds. You and I just agreed that we needed outside help and someone objective to talk to. We were doing this to save our marriage."

"But things were bad enough that we needed to see someone." Will paused, and then asked the question that plagued his mind. "Am I turning into my mom? Did I do something that hurt you so badly?"

"NO!" Sonny shouted. He couldn't let Will think this was his fault. "No, baby. We both got caught up in too many different things, but when we realized that it was affecting our marriage badly, we made the decision together to save our marriage and fight for it. We wanted to get back to where we were right after we got married."

Ari began to cry at the loud sounds of her daddies talking waking her up. Sonny immediately got up and began pacing around, bouncing her lightly to calm her back to sleep. "Sorry sweetie. It's okay, go back to sleep." He paced around for a few minutes, bouncing her and talking softly, and Ari eventually drifted back to sleep.

Deciding he couldn't have this conversation with Will and continue to hold Ari, he carefully placed her on the chair, curling his jacket around her. Comforted by the smell of her daddy Sonny in the jacket, Ari snuggled in further. Sonny then turned back to Will and sat on the bed in the space next to Will's hip, leaning over towards Will, who stared back at him. "I need you to listen to me. I love you, and nothing is going to change that. You are not your mom. You and I lost our way for a bit, but we realized what was important and decided to try and talk to someone who could hear our story from each of us, but not be connected in any way to us."

Will softened, still not saying anything. Sonny lightly stroked Will's bad hand, caressing his wedding ring. "When the accident happened, I was terrified not only because you were hurt, but because I was afraid you were going to die and not know how much you mean to me. How much I can't get through the day without you and Ari. You both are too important to me to get caught up in all this other outside crap. We _both_ seem to forget that at times, and I am so sorry that it took something bad like this to remind me what is important, but the important thing is that we don't need to think about the past. I love you, and you love me. That is what matters."

Sonny capped his speech off with a kiss, meaning to only do their normal light double kiss. But Will isn't having that, as he reaches his hand up around Sonny's neck and pulls him in closer, intensifying the kiss. Gripping Sonny's hair to keep him close, Will opens his mouth and their tongues danced together as the electricity heated up between them. Sonny slid one arm around Will's shoulder to anchor himself closer to Will, and Will arched his chest into Sonny. He missed this. This fire, the need that ran between them, the passion. This was the one thing they had never lost, but almost forgot about.

Will, forgetting where they were, slid his hand down Sonny's chest and underneath his shirt, feeling the firm stomach and warm skin underneath. Sonny's hand, meanwhile, moved to Will's neck and anchor it back, allowing Sonny to bite on Will's bottom lip. The hunger and desire rages between them, and they break apart for a moment, their breaths dancing together and the ache for each other fuels them to go on. Sonny watches as the fire dances in Will's eyes, the fire for him. It isn't until a voice breaks through that they finally jump apart.

"Not that the nurses don't enjoy a free show, but do you really think this is the best place to get it on?"

Sonny jumps off the bed, and Will startles back, both still heavily breathing. They look to see Maxine and Melanie standing at the door smirking at them. Suddenly, the location of their make-up and make-out session hits both of them.

Maxine began to explain. "Will's heart rate started to get a little high, so we were checking to make sure he was okay. But it looks like he is more than okay."

Turning red, Will wipes his face and tries to slow his breathing down. He can't believe they got carried away in his hospital bed, in front of their daughter! Both he and Sonny smile embarrassed, but Melanie and Maxine just wave them off.

"Glad to see you two still have it. And things were a little boring today here, so it's nice to get a show once in a while."

Will hid his face and Sonny looked away, biting his lip, as Melanie and Maxine exited the room. Sonny looked at Will, who then burst out laughing with him.

"Just like old times" Sonny laughed.

Will smiled. "Oh yeah, like when my dad interrupted us, or Gabi." He paused for a moment, and then said, "I think even Ari has interrupted us."

Sonny looked over at the chair, seeing Ari was still sleeping and a shocked look comes across his face. "I totally forgot she was there."

Will bit his lip. "Guess there were other things on your mind."

They laughed again, and Sonny sat back down on the bed. Both were content for a moment, just happy to be with each other. The knowledge that their marriage was rocky still hit Will hard, but he had to believe that Sonny meant everything he said.

"Do you really think we are going to be okay?"

Sonny smiled and kissed Will's hand. "Yes, I do."

The rest of Sonny and Ari's visit was quiet, with the three of them mostly just enjoying the family time together. When dinner for Will was delivered, Sonny decided to take Ari back to the mansion to feed her and then head over to meet Ben. Despite what happened with Will, he still feels the need to talk to someone. The guilt over him cheating with Paul still eats him up, and he doesn't know how to deal with it. He needs to focus in on helping Will recover, not on his own guilt.

He gets Ari fed and plays with her for a while. It amazes him how everyday he is overcome with love for her. He sees Will in her all the time, in her eyes, her face, how she smiles, and how determined she gets. Although that determination she could also get from Gabi. It amazed him all the time how stubborn both Will and Gabi could be, and how badly they could fight, but in the end, they were always there for each other.

He explains to his mom that he is meeting Ben for a drink and to talk, and she agrees to watch Ari for the night. She looks apprehensive, but he assures her that he is not going to see Paul or do anything stupid. But he needs to talk to someone.

"I know honey, and I am happy you have people you can talk to. I just worry that all this stress is going to get to you, and something will happen."

He starts to get angry, but then stops himself. He knows he deserves this. He got into this whole mess because he was stressed and got drunk and did something he regrets.

"I know, Mom. But I am meeting Ben, and he will make sure nothing happens. It's just, he knows what is going on, and he doesn't have a connection to Will or a stake in anything. All he cares about is being a friend to me. Someone who will listen. And I need that right now."

With that, he kisses Adrienne on the cheek and heads out the door. Adrienne watches him leave, knowing he is right and that her son is going to be okay. If she could only figure out how to make sure Paul never enters his life again. She hopes Justin and Victor have figured that part out. They have been very secretive lately, claiming to be working on a business deal to help Will and Sonny, but refusing to give any details.

Entering the club, Sonny looks around and sees how dead it is. Since it is close to closing time, he is not really surprised. While business has picked up again, it still isn't where it used to be. He immediately heads over to the bar where T and Ben are cleaning up.

"Hey Sonny. How's Will?"

Sonny smiles. "He is good. He actually started to get some of his memory back."

T smiles. "Really? That's great!"

"Yeah, although it wasn't exactly a good memory, but it is something."

T looks at both Ben and Sonny, wanting to ask more, but deciding against it. It is hard at times for him to remain objective, as Will is one of his best friends, and Sonny hurt him. But he knows that Sonny is trying really hard to make things right, and he knows that Ben is a good person who will listen and give the advice Sonny needs to hear. With that thought, he clocks out after checking nothing is needed for the next day, and then grabs his stuff. "Well, I know you guys have plans, so I am heading out. Ben, I will see you tomorrow."

"T, you don't have to rush out."

"No, it's okay. I actually have plans to see someone anyway. But I am glad you are here, Sonny. And remember, Will is getting better."

With that, T heads out the door. Sonny shakes his head. He can't always figure out how he became friends with T, but he is glad that he did.

"So Boss, what can I get you to drink?"

"Just a beer, thanks."

Ben pours him a beer, and then leans back. "What did you want to talk about?"

Sonny sighs. "I don't even know where to start."

"So let's start small. Will is doing good, right? Physical therapy is helping, and he is regaining movement."

"Yeah, he is. Like I said, even his memory is starting to come back. But it wasn't a good memory. It was a memory of the two of us fighting. And he found out about him going to L.A. and failing, so that didn't help. And then, I told him about the club problems and us going to marriage counseling. But with all that, I still haven't told him about the cheating yet."

Ben sighed. "But wouldn't it be a bad idea to tell him now? You said he didn't remember anything good, wouldn't telling him push him too far?"

"I agree, but I just feel so guilty about it. Will thinks that all our problems are his fault, and I can't really convince him otherwise without telling him all the things I have done."

Ben thought for a moment while Sonny drank his beer. "Does it really matter whose fault it is in the end? I mean, you want to be with him, and he wants to be with you. Does all that other stuff really matter?"

"I cheated on him, with my ex. Of course it matters."

"Sonny, I haven't known you that long, but I know that you are a good guy. You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, and you always look out for other people. When Chad accused me of stealing or selling in the bar when I had all that money, you believed me when I said I had a good reason for holding that money. You didn't need to hear the reason."

Sonny was silent listening to Ben, and Ben decided to take a deep breath and tell Sonny what he needed to hear. "Sonny, you are holding onto this guilt, and it is not good for your relationship with Will. Don't take this the wrong way, but if you keep focusing on what you did in the past, you are only hurting Will more. Yes, you cheated on him, and yes at some point he needs to know. But if it is only a onetime thing, than you need to be there for Will now, and show how committed you are to him. When he is stronger, you can tell him. But focusing in on this guilt is only hurting you. And it's hurting Will. He doesn't know what is wrong, so obviously he thinks it is him. But you are there for him now."

Sonny thought about what Ben was saying. Yes, he has been holding in a lot of guilt, but isn't that only fair since _he_ was the one who broke his vows. But was he hurting Will? It wasn't an affair, it was a onetime thing. Paul was no longer in the picture, since he hasn't seen him in almost 2 weeks, and hopefully has left town. He would tell Will, just when Will was better.

Unfortunately, it still wouldn't be any easier to tell him. Will would be crushed no matter what. But the blow of their fight after he cheated, and the thought that Sonny was in love with someone else, would hopefully be gone. Sonny needed to make things right with Will, and show him that the only man he would ever love was Will.

_Meanwhile…_

Paul sat on the bed in his hotel room, staring that his face on the cover of _Sonix_. It had been almost three weeks since the article came out, and while there has been a lot of attention to it, the outcome he wanted still had not happened. Sonny was still saying he wanted nothing to do with Paul. He didn't understand. Paul did everything that Sonny had wanted him to do before. He was out of the closet now. Why was Sonny still not seeing how good they could be together?

Paul did feel guilty about the fact that Will had gotten hit by the car after seeing the article. While he didn't really like Will, he never wanted Will to get seriously injured. There had been so news of any death, so Paul had hoped that Will was recovering. Because he didn't know anyone in town, it wasn't really as if he could ask anyone. And if he did, people most likely would not give him any information. He had already tried calling the hospital, but they refused to give any information over the phone. Everyone knew everyone in this town, so it was impossible to blend in.

Paul needed to know if Will was okay. And he needed to apologize to Will for the accident. But he also needed Will to know he was never going to stop fighting for Sonny. He loved Sonny, and he couldn't give up. Not yet. Sonny probably still felt guilty over hurting Will, and had to deal with his family. He needed to show Sonny that Paul was a good guy. That maybe he went about it the wrong way, but he was committed to making them work.

He looked at the article again and re-read it. Maybe if he could show it to Will and explain to him his history with Sonny, Will would help Sonny understand that he belonged with Paul. With that thought in his mind, he closed his eyes and dreamed of the day when Sonny would finally be his again.

_Author's note- the big reveal will come in the next chapter, and a lot of unanswered questions will also start to be answered. Thank you to everyone who has been encouraging me and offering advice. I hope this doesn't disappoint! _


	35. Chapter 35

The next day, Sonny spent the morning with Will before Will went to physical therapy and Sonny went to his counseling session. He left Arianna with the baby-sitter, as he wanted to spend the rest of the day with Will after he saw Dr. Greenberg. He wanted to continue to talk to Will about what had happened the past few months, and what Will needed from him to prove that he wanted their marriage to work.

Will was quiet that morning, not sure what to talk about. He still tries to comprehend the fact what he remembers about his marriage is not what the reality is for the state of their marriage. Sonny tries to help him understand, but without giving too much information away. Thankfully, Dr. Thomas came in before Sonny left to discuss Will's progress. He had been improving beyond their expectations, and they were hoping to continue on this track so that Will could eventually become an outpatient and not live at the hospital all the time. He gave both Will and Sonny forms of physical therapists and rehab centers to look into for when Will is strong enough to be discharged. This information gives them hope and allows Sonny's morning visit to end on a positive note before he heads off to Dr. Greenberg.

When he arrived at Dr. Greenberg's office, he was immediately led into the office.

"How is Will doing?"

"Okay. Physical therapy is going really well, they are going to try soon and see if he can stand up soon. I'm hoping that they will start looking into releasing him as an outpatient so he can come home."

"And if they do, where will you be?"

"What does that mean?" Sonny looks confused and a little offended. What does she mean, where will he be?"

"I mean, will you all be living at the mansion, or will you go back to the apartment?"

Oh. She meant their living arrangements. "Oh. I guess we will stay at the mansion. There are more people around, and can help if Will needs it throughout the day when I am at work."

Dr. Greenberg nods, but then stares at Sonny for a moment in contemplation. "What did you think I meant when I asked you where you would be when Will gets released?"

Sonny shrugs. "I don't know." But Dr. Greenberg continues to stare at him, not letting him get away with a non-answer, and he sighs. "I guess it reminded me of the fact I cheated and that if Will remembers, I worry that he wouldn't want to come home with me."

"Do you really think that?"

Sonny stares back at her. "Of course. When he found out before, there was such a divide between us. Even though he was living in the apartment, we slept in separate beds. If he remembers again, and then remembers about the article and the magazine, he won't want to come home with me. He started remembering things yesterday, and I told him we were in marriage counseling. If he finds out that I cheated, I don't know what will happen. Things were starting to get good between us again, and I don't want to lose that."

"What did he start to remember?"

"His mom told him about L.A., and he remembered a fight between us about the fact that he lied about why he came home."

"How did he feel after he remembered that?"

Sonny took a deep breath in, trying to keep himself calm. "He didn't have a good reaction. The doctor had to give him medicine because the stress was so much." He begins to tear up, the gravity of his fears beginning to hit him. "I just got him back, the real him, and I don't want to lose him again. He has been through so much, and is only just recovering."

Dr. Greenberg hands Sonny some tissues, and sits back. "Sonny, I understand where your fears are coming from. You and Will both were traumatized by this event, and while most of Will's struggles are physical, both of you have emotional and psychological injuries to deal with."

Sonny doesn't say anything, taking in what Dr. Greenberg is saying.

"Sonny, I do want to warn you though. You really should be the one to tell Will what has happened between the two of you before someone else does. With this article out, eventually, someone or something is going to get back to Will."

"It's not. Everyone in each of our families who know also know that Will is still fragile for the moment and they need to be careful on what they say."

"But Sonny, you need to plan for the eventuality. Even if no one says anything, what if he sees the article? Isn't it better to hear this from you, and not from some outside source?"

Sonny can't help but agree that it is better that he tells Will, but he doesn't know if he can bear to see that look on Will's face again.

"How do I even begin to try and tell him? He looked so devastated at the fact that we have been fighting. His biggest fear has always been losing me. How can I tell him that I broke our vows and hurt him in every way imaginable?

"You said that things have been going well between you two, right?" Sonny nods at this. "Then you start with the truth. That you love him, and you made a mistake, and that you only want to spend your life with him. He may be hurt at first, but at some point, he will forgive you."

Sonny stares at the floor. "He may forgive me, but will he be willing to stay married to me?"

That was the real question. Sonny knew that Will would forgive him. But would he be willing to stay married to him?

_Meanwhile…_

Will continued to work hard in physical therapy. He still had to keep his arm in a sling and couldn't move it, but was starting to get strength back in his legs and core. The doctors had him going at a slow pace, claiming that it was better for his body, but it killed him that his almost 2 year old daughter moved at a faster pace than he could.

Thinking about Ari put a smile on Will's face and gave him the encouragement to keep working hard to get better. Sonny and Ari were his motivations to keep recovering and working as hard as he could so he could get out of the hospital and home to them. The idea of going home makes him work even harder. He wasn't sure whether they would all go back to the apartment or if they would stay at the Kiriakis Mansion, but it honestly didn't matter to him. Staying at the mansion, in many ways, would be a better choice as there were people who could help them and there was plenty of space. And for some reason, there was this nagging apprehension about going to the apartment. He didn't understand it, and it bothered him. But he had no idea how to ask anyone or explain what he was feeling.

It was things like this that made him wonder what else he had been missing from the past few months. He feels like there is this big missing piece of the puzzle. Dr. Thomas has been trying to encourage him to speak to a counselor, and now that he knows that he and Sonny have been seeing a marriage counselor, he has been thinking a lot about going to meet with her and talk to her. He still doesn't know how he feels about the fact that his marriage is in a bad place, but he has to believe that he and Sonny are getting to a better place.

After physical therapy, Melanie brings him back to his room and helps him get back into bed. He still needs to be hooked up to the heart monitors and IV's, since he didn't have a great reaction to the start of his memories coming back and he is still recovering. He sighs as he looks out the window. He thinks about asking to be able to go outside, even for just an hour, and get out of the room for a while. Just feel normal again.

He is so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn't hear when a visitor enters the room. Paul waited until the coast was clear and searched around until he found Will's room. He felt bad about doing this, but he needs to talk to Will.

"Hi Will."

Will is startled for a moment, and looks to the door. "Hi."

"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

Will takes a deep breath. "It's okay. Guess I was just lost in my thoughts."

Paul nods, and moves further in the room.

"Do you mind if I talk to you for a moment?"

Will only nods. He has no idea who this guy is, but he looks like he has something to say. Maybe he is a counselor with the hospital.

"How are you?"

Will shrugged. "Okay. Just finished up with physical therapy. It's a little frustrating, but I am getting there."

Paul nods again. He takes a deep breath and decides to press on. "I wanted to talk to you. First of all, I am so sorry you got hurt. I never meant for that to happen."

Will narrows his eyes, confused at what this guy is talking about. He didn't want the accident to happen?

But Paul doesn't notice and continues on. "When the article first came up, I was hesitant to do it. I have spent so much of my life trying to keep my secret and not let people in. But after seeing the love of my life again, I knew what I had to do. I needed to show the world who I am and show the man that I love how much I love him and what I would give for him."

Suddenly, that nagging feeling and the pit in his stomach is back and worse than ever. Will fears that this man has something to do with Sonny. He pales slightly, but doesn't stop Paul as he continues. "When Sonny and I were finally together again, it was amazing and reminded me how much I love him. But then he said he wanted to be with you, that he regretted being with me, and I realized I couldn't lose him again. That was the point of the article. I wanted to show Sonny that I would out myself and show him how much we love each other. I know you and he are married, and I am sorry, but I love him and can't lose him."

Tears run down Will's face, and the only thing he is able to get out as he begins to hyperventilate is "article?"

Paul hands over the article, and the sight of the cover suddenly brings back to Will who this guy is. Paul Narita, Sonny's ex-boyfriend. He opens the magazine and scans through it, and when he sees the picture of Sonny and Paul kissing, he suddenly flashes to seeing them kiss in the park right after he saw the article. His breathing accelerates, and his heart monitors begin to loudly beep. Melanie rushes in to check on Will, and she stops when she sees Paul standing there.

"What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to Will."

Melanie is incensed. How could this guy think it was okay to go in and talk to Will? "Haven't you done enough to him and Sonny? Sonny doesn't want you, why can't you get that through your head?"

She turns back and tries to talk to Will to calm him down, but he is too far out of it. Another memory comes to his head, and it is far worse than any of the others.

_"__Being with Paul, it was amazing. He knew exactly what I needed and what I wanted. I didn't have to talk him through anything. He loves me, and knows how to care for me. It was so amazing to be with someone who understands you and wants you. After that, I knew how much it was a mistake to have married you."_

_Tears ran down Will's face. "Please stop."_

_"__What? Is it too much for you? Is it too hard to hear that what everyone has ever said about our relationship is true? I am better off without you. You abandoned me when I needed you. All you have ever done is cause drama to my life. You lie and get into fights and cause problems. Paul was amazing to me, but we broke up because he wouldn't come out. But at least he never lied to me. He may lie to the world, but never to me. He was willing to give me anything I wanted. My life would have been so much better if I had stayed with him."_

_Tears continue to stream down Will's face. He stays quiet, no longer trying to stop Sonny but letting him just go. He never imagined that his husband, the man he loved with all his heart, would ever feel this way about him._

_"__You were just a consolation prize. I felt sorry for you, and angry that Paul wouldn't come out for me. But now I know, that in my heart, the man I am meant to be with is not the second choice consolation prize in front of me. It isn't a hard decision. I don't know why I ever thought it was a good idea to marry you."_

The memory of Sonny coming back drunk and revealing how he feels hits Will so hard he has a massive panic attack. Melanie calls out for help as Will is dangerously close to having a heart attack. His heart rate is way too elevated and he is unable to take any deep breaths. Dr. Thomas rushes in, along with Maxine and another nurse, and they rush to try and calm Will down, grabbing the crash cart just in case and putting an oxygen mask on Will. But it is no use. All the thoughts that run through his mind are that his marriage is failing and he has lost his husband. What did anything else matter?

Fight or flight begins to kick in, and Will feels the urge to run. He fights against the doctor and nurses holding him down, and no matter who tries to talk to him, no one is able to reach him. He can't get air into his lungs, and black spots begin to dance in front of his eyes. Dr. Thomas quickly administers a sedative to medically calm Will down and force him to get some rest. The medicine, along with the stress to his body, run through and eventually cause Will to calm down and collapse, asleep in the bed. Blood trickles from his nose, the stress and anxiety from the regained memories too much for his body to handle. Dr. Thomas immediately orders tests to be run, EKG's and a CT scan, to ensure that no further damage has been done to Will's body.

Sonny arrives to see the nurses wheeling Will's bed out of the room towards radiology. Noticing the pale face and tear streaked cheeks, along with the oxygen mask that he had thought was long gone, and he immediately becomes concerned.

"What happened?"

Dr. Thomas speaks up first. "Will had some sort of an episode. His breathing became erratic and he had a massive panic attack. I think he regained some more of his memories. But we need to run some tests to find out what is going on."

Sonny becomes concerned. "An episode? I don't understand."

Melanie speaks up, and points behind everyone. "_He_ was in Will's room, talking to him when Will had the panic attack."

Sonny immediately turns, and his stomach drops when he sees Paul standing there. "Paul? What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, but I just wanted to talk to Will. Make him understand how much I love you."

"You wanted…" and then suddenly, Sonny realizes what happened. "YOU TOLD HIM!?" Paul told Will that Sonny cheated on Will and slept with Paul. He looks at Paul's hand and sees a copy of _Sonix_, the article that outed Paul. Soon everything begins to fall into place and it is Sonny that can't breathe.

Will knows. He knows everything. Paul came to the hospital and told Will everything, before Sonny got the chance to. And that caused Will to remember and have a massive panic attack, almost a heart attack. Will could have died.

With that thought and anger boiling through him, Sonny grabs Paul and throws him against the nearest wall. "You son of a bitch! What the hell were you thinking coming here?! You could have killed him!"

Paul gasps for air, not sure how to react to this side of Sonny. "Sonny, I just wanted him to understand."

"UNDERSTAND!? I don't care what you wanted him to understand!" Security runs in to try and pull them apart, but Sonny refuses to let go. "I want you to understand this. If anything happens to him, I will kill you. Do you understand me? I. Will. Kill. You."

Security finally pulls Sonny off of Paul, and Sonny takes a few steps away, running his hand through his hair and trying to wrap his mind around what has happened. Will knows everything now. What was he going to do?

Paul reaches out to try and touch Sonny, and that is the last straw for him. Sonny hauls his arm back and punches Paul straight in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.

"DON'T you EVER touch me again!"

Melanie pulls Sonny away, and down the hall to cool off. The anger begins to fade, and the sadness creeps in. Will knows everything now. And the stress became too much for him. Could Sonny actually lose Will this time?

Tears run down his face, and he collapses against the wall, with Melanie at his side hugging him. But Sonny can barely acknowledge her. The only thing he can think is, _God, please, don't let him die. Please Will, don't leave me now._

But is it too late?

_Author's note- Here it is, the big reveal! Hope it was worth the wait! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and helped with this, especially aphass and Love DS for your help with the medical background and building up to this scene. So, what will happen now? Stay tuned!_


	36. Chapter 36

Sonny sat on the ground with Melanie for a few minutes, trying to wrap his head around what has just happened. His hand throbbed slightly from punch Paul, but Sonny barely notices it. He can't believe that Paul actually came to the hospital and revealed everything to Will. People had warned him that Will would find out eventually, and that it should come from him, but he never actually thought it was Paul who would be the one to tell him. And then to actually use the excuse that he wanted Will to understand. Understand what?

Sonny realized how dangerous Paul actually was. At first, he was just someone who couldn't let go. But he really thought that, with time, Paul would see Sonny wasn't coming back and would let go. He tried to make it very clear, like what he should have done with Brian. But while Brian finally took a hint, Paul didn't. And now, he has put Will's life in danger for a second time. And Sonny has had enough.

Standing up quickly, he pulls out his phone. Ignoring Melanie's look of confusion, he dialed his Uncle Victor.

"Uncle Vic, I need your help."

He explains what has just happened, and how Paul has revealed everything to Will, and chokes out how Will had a massive panic attack and nearly a heart attack. He hates that it has come to this, but enough was enough. If Paul wasn't going to leave and stay away on his own, Sonny was going to ask his family for help to keep Paul away.

"He keeps putting Will in danger. I can't let that happen anymore. I need to find a way to keep him away from me and Will. I'm afraid even Ari is in danger."

Ari being in danger may be pushing it, but he doesn't care. He needs to get the message across that Paul cannot be near him or Will. And he knows from past experience that if someone is so in love that they are willing to do anything, it doesn't matter who is in the way. Even though he let go of what Gabi did, she still did put Melanie in danger because she thought she was in love with Chad and wanted him. He will not allow Ari to be put in any danger. Even the danger of losing one of her daddies because an ex cannot take a hint.

Victor is silent for a moment, and then says, "Your father and I have started to put together something to take care of that. If you want, we will file a request for a Restraining Order, barring him from coming within 100 yards, or 300 feet, from you and Will. It may be a bit of a stretch, considering there has been no act of violence, but his presence has obviously shown he doesn't care about the harm he is inflicting on you and Will."

Sonny is stunned for a moment. He never thought of trying to get a restraining order. "Do you really think we will be able to get it? I mean, we can't prove any sort of violence against me or Will. It's possible for harassment."

"Like I said, it's a stretch, but I know a few people who might be able to help us. At least for the next 30 days. Then we will probably have to go in front of a judge and try to get it extended if you want. But 30 days, that should be enough time for Will to be released, and then, you will come live here. Will can fully recover here, we will have physical therapists or doctors come here, and Paul can't get past the gates here."

Sonny doesn't know what to say. He wonders if a restraining order is a bit extreme, but then he thinks about the fact that Will has been hit by a car, nearly died twice, and that Paul showed no concern for his well-being by coming here. He put Will in danger, and that cannot happen again. Not if Sonny can do something about it.

"Do it."

Victor smiles. "Good. I will have your father go to a judge that knows us. We will get this signed right away and have this bastard served. I also wanted to let you know that I have also taken care of that other problem of yours."

"What problem?" Was there something else that Sonny had not been aware of?

"_TruVista_ has recently combined with another magazine, _Sonix_. Titan engineered a take-over and I now own both. I decided I wanted to expand our readership, and _Sonix_ has a wider fan base. Furthermore, Zoe Browning is out of a job. I thought you might be pleased by that."

Sonny is floored by this news. This was what his uncle had been working on with his dad. They got the rights to _Sonix_, and have tossed Zoe out for what she did to him and Will. He truly doesn't know what to say.

"Tell Will when he is better and wants to get back to work, that there is a job waiting for him."

And then Victor hangs up.

Sonny isn't thrown by that. He knew that was how his Uncle Vic was at times. But to get the information he did, almost makes him feel better about the situation. _Almost_. He still has no idea how Will is, if Paul caused any damage that could set back Will's recovery, and if Will is okay emotionally after what Paul told him. Will could barely speak to him after he revealed he had cheated the way that he did the first time Will found out. Now, he had no idea what Will would do. Will had to relive this whole thing all over again, and Sonny's heart ached at that. He never wanted Will to go through that pain, which was part of the reason why he didn't tell Will what had actually happened. All the comments people had been making to him about how _he_ needed to tell Will before someone else did rang in his head, but he honestly thought he was doing the right thing by waiting. Even the doctor had encouraged him to not tell Will anything, to let him remember on his own.

The right thing. It suddenly hits Sonny how many times he and Will have fought over the fact that each of them thought they were doing the right thing. Will writing the article about his mom. Sonny secretly getting Will a job behind his back. Will going to L.A. Sonny keeping Gabi's secret of what she did to Melanie, and when she slept with Nick. Will keeping secret about the fact that _he_ was Ari's father, not Nick. Again and again, they keep these secrets or make decisions without truly consulting the other because they have come to the conclusion that they are making the right decision. It always ended up being the wrong thing.

Sonny sighs and goes back to the waiting room. He needs to know if Will is going to be okay. Paul is still standing there, this time with an ice pack on his cheek where Sonny had made contact with his face. Sonny barely glances at him. He doesn't care about Paul. Any lingering feelings that may have resonated within him for Paul have disintegrated. Paul is no longer someone who matters.

At that moment, security comes back up to Sonny. He figures he is about to be in trouble for attacking Paul, and is prepared to defend himself and fight to stay at the hospital, but he soon realizes he is mistaken.

"We understand there was an altercation between you, a patient here, and this gentleman." Sonny nods at this comment. "Would you like us to have this man removed from the premises?" One of the guards asks Sonny as they point to Paul. Sonny is shocked at this and can only nod, glad that Paul would finally be gone from the hospital.

"I want him barred from here. He cannot be able to get access to my husband, Will Horton."

The security guards nod and agree to make sure that happens. Paul is obviously upset and looks put out that _he_ is being escorted out, but doesn't make too much of a scene. Sonny doesn't really care. Paul needs to be as far away from him as possible.

About an hour later, Dr. Thomas finally appears on the waiting room.

Sonny races over to him. "How is he?"

The doctor sighs. "For the moment, he is stable. There does not seem to be any lasting damage to his body. He is still under a heavy sedative, so hopefully he will rest the rest of the day."

Sonny nodded, but could sense there was more. "What is it?"

"Will's body cannot handle any stress at this point. He seems to be okay, but the fact of the matter is that his body is still weak. Another attack like this could have a more serious effect on Will. I believe we may need to create a list and limit who is allowed to see Will at this point. I still believe he is on track to be able to leave the hospital soon, but he needs to have no stress right now."

Sonny nods, the guilt weighing heavily on him. He needs to see his husband and apologize for everything that has happened. He needs Will to know that Sonny is dedicated to making their relationship work.

When he goes in to see Will, he immediately rushes to Will's side, although Will is fast asleep, under the spell of the heavy medication. He is glad to see the oxygen mask is gone and only the nasal cannula is there. He sits next to Will and grabs his hand, kissing it.

"Hey baby. I'm here." '_And I am so sorry'_ he thinks to himself.

Sonny sits with Will for a few hours, not wanting to leave his side in case anything happens. He called his mom to ask her to pick up Ari from the baby-sitter, claiming that something happened with Will at the hospital and he needed to stay there. Adrienne became concerned and asked several questions, wanting to know the situation, but Sonny assured her everything was fine for now, and that he would update her later. He only leaves the room quickly to grab something to eat, but brings it back so he can be there if Will needs him.

Around 8 o'clock is when the sedative finally wears off and Will awakens. Sonny was watching television at this point, and keeping track of the club from his phone. He is startled when he hears a small groan from the bed.

"Will?"

Will blinks his eyes open, groggy and unsure of what had happened. His head hurt and he felt like he had been run over all over again.

"Sonny?"

"Hey, yeah, it's me. How are you feeling?"

"Tired. Achy. What time is it?"

"It's about 8 at night. If you want, you can go back to sleep. You had a long day."

Will smiled, but as he took a deep breath and the tiredness started to fade, the memories of what happened earlier that day came rushing back. His face immediately fell, and Sonny could see it.

"What's wrong?" Sonny dreads the answer, but needs to know.

Will didn't say anything at first, and looked away from Sonny. After a few seconds, he looked back and said, "Please tell me this afternoon was a horrible nightmare, and what that guy, _Paul_, said isn't true."

Sonny's gaze immediately dropped, and tears fell from Will's eyes. "So what I remember is true. You cheated on me, called me a consolation prize, and there is a magazine article about you and your ex."

Sonny took a deep breath in and began to say, "Will…"

But Will interrupted. "No. Is it true or not?"

Sonny jumped at the venom in Will's voice, but said quietly, "Yes, it is true."

Will angrily nodded and looked away, his lip quivering. Sonny reached for his hand, but as soon as he touched it, Will jerked away.

"I'm so sorry Will. Please god, you have to believe me."

"Get out."

Sonny is stunned at this. "What?"

Will looks back at Sonny with venom and disdain. "Get out."

"Please, just let me explain."

"Explain! Explain how all these weeks, I have been asking you what is going on, and you tell me that everything is fine, we are working on our marriage. You tell me we had some issues, but the only information I get is how I messed up by going to L.A. and _abandoning_ you. So all I think is, 'oh my god, have I ruined my marriage?' And then some guy, who I have no idea who he is, comes in and tells me he is in love with my husband and shows me an article revealing his love for my husband, and the fact is that he slept with my husband."

"We have been working on our marriage. Please, Will, this was a one-time thing. It was a horrible mistake, and that is why we have been in counseling. We were fixing our marriage."

"How long? How long had this been going on?"

Sonny bites his lip and sighs. "I slept with him a week before your accident."

Will's eyes widen. "A week! How could we have possibly been trying to fix things after a week?!"

Sonny implores Will, "Please, just calm down. I was really upset that day, I got drunk, and it was a huge mistake. I have been telling Paul this, and I am so sorry he came here today. I was going to tell you everything, I swear. But things were going so well between us, and you were only just recovering. The doctor had warned us that anything stressful could set you back, and I wanted to help you get better, so you could see that I do only love you. But you have to believe me when I say that I regret what happened, and this entire experience has made me realize how much I love you and need you in my life."

Will scoffs at that. Sonny actually needed Will to almost die for him to realize that Will was a good guy? "I'm so glad that me nearly DYING was what convinced you that I was the one you wanted to be with. Not the fact that I am your husband, no, you needed to sleep with someone else and then see me nearly die to decide, oh I want to actually be with Will, my husband, not my ex. My ex was good enough to nearly throw my marriage away for, but I do want to be with Will."

The machines begin to go off, and Sonny knows that he needs to get Will to calm down.

"Will, please, you need to calm down."

"Stop telling me what to do! You lost that privilege after everything you have done. What I need is for you to GET OUT! I want you to get out and don't come back!"

At that statement, he reaches and grabs something at the table, not caring what it was, and throwing it against the wall, emphasizing his wish for Sonny to leave. Sonny jumped back at this, and the fear that he is losing his husband all over again rises up in him. Maxine rushes in as the machines continue to go off, trying to calm Will down, but neither Will nor Sonny notice.

Seething at Sonny, Will sits up and screams, "GET OUT! GET OUT!"

As Maxine continues to try and calm Will down, Sonny finally backs out and stumbles into the hallway. Tears are running down his face, and he can barely breathe. Rushing into the nearest elevator, he ignores Melanie's calls and quickly presses the down button. As soon as he is in the lobby, he runs out and collapses in his car. All he can hear are the words "GET OUT" as Will screams them at him. Sobbing, he bangs his hands against the steering wheel, and when he stops, he quietly whispers, "I've lost him."

What is he supposed to do now?

_Author's Note- I wanted to explain Will's behavior. I decided to take some inspiration from the Days' storyline of when Sami actually finds out about EJ and Abigail's affair. They had the different scenarios, and they represented the different feelings one can go through when an affair is revealed. Since this is the second time Will finds out, I think his reaction would be different. A brain injury, like the one I have written in, can cause a personality difference. Before, Will was upset and devastated. Now, Will is angry. I hope this makes sense to everyone._

_I do apologize for any legal mistakes I made regarding a restraining order, or any medical mistakes. Again, I love getting all your reviews and appreciate you all so much for the support. I hope you continue to enjoy the story!_


	37. Chapter 37

_Author's note- I am so sorry for the late update! I hope this makes up for the wait! Thank you so much to everyone who has been helping and encouraging with this story. I apologize for any mistakes in regards to restraining orders and legal contracts. Please review!_

Walking into the mansion, Sonny still felt like he was in a daze. The past hour just didn't seem real to him. It seemed like such a nightmare for Will to be so angry and have so much venom spewed at him. He didn't blame Will though. Will woke up to a reality he didn't understand, and was already having a hard time coping with it. No, Sonny blamed himself and Paul for this one. He was even more determined to keep Paul away from Will and himself to ensure that he couldn't do any further damage. If he had to and could find a way to, he would sue Paul for everything he had. He would destroy Paul and make him feel every bit of the pain that Will felt. He would ensure Paul would never want to get within 100 miles of his family ever again.

It hurt so much that Will didn't want to see him. He remembered before, when he had woken up the next morning after cheating on Will and remembering what he had done, and the anxiety of never knowing when Will was going to come home, _if_ Will was ever going to come home. Begging Will on the phone to please talk to him, to not give up on them, and never knowing what Will was thinking. He didn't want to have to go through all that again, but deep in his heart, he knew he would do anything for Will. He waited for over a year for Will to finally come out and want to be in a relationship with Sonny. He wasn't going to give up now.

But for the moment, the emotional toll of the day caught up with Sonny. The fact is that once again, he has to start all over again in trying to win back his husband's trust. This time though, Will was forced to remember everything because someone other than Sonny told him. He was forced to remember the article, the vicious fight they had, and the fact that Sonny was with his ex. Sonny had no idea what else Will remembered, and it hurt him to think that Will couldn't remember anything good. It may not have made any difference now, but to be able to remember anything good could help to soften the blow of what happened. The few kisses they shared, having family time with Ari, or even Sonny finally sticking up for Will against Abi.

Sonny couldn't get a statement Will said out of his head. _'I'm so glad that me nearly DYING was what convinced you that I was the one you wanted to be with.'_ Was that how it seemed to Will? That he was hit by a car and that Sonny felt guilty about it, and he decided to be with Will because of that? He knew it looked that way. And maybe in some ways, the accident did show him that he didn't want to live without Will. But it wasn't what made him realize that he wanted to be with Will only. He wasn't even sure he could pick out a single point in which he knew he wanted Will over Paul.

When he compared Will and Paul on paper, someone could probably make the argument that Paul was better for Sonny. Or that neither of them were right for Sonny. But the thing was, Sonny didn't care about that. Paul could make Sonny feel special for a moment, but that always faded. He could never keep that feeling going for very long. It never faded with Will. Sonny could look at Will and see their future together. He couldn't do that with Paul. And despite what Paul claimed, he would never see it with Paul. Despite their problems, Sonny couldn't see himself with anyone else for longer than a moment.

He had no idea how to convince Will of that though. Will was so angry, and so hurt, that he couldn't think. Sonny couldn't ever imagine a time when Will had been that angry, especially at him. He knew he had gotten that way with his mom, but never him. Will always told Sonny that he was a calming force for Will, but Sonny also knew how volatile Will could get if he felt like he was losing something he loved. Will had a tendency to act first and ask questions later.

Collapsing on the couch, Sonny pinched his nose to stop his headache from increasing. He had to figure out a way to make Will understand how sorry he was and how much he only wanted to be with Will. That their problems did not have to define how their marriage continued. But he knew that would be easier said than done. The one thing that Will has a hard time forgiving his mother for, still to this day, was the fact that she cheated on Rafe and broke up their marriage. And then when EJ cheated on her, Will was even further devastated. His dad had even been cheated on. Except for Sami and EJ, before EJ died, Will had not had the experience of a relationship being mended after someone cheating. So it was hard for Will to see how they could make it through.

Sonny broke from his thoughts when he heard Adrienne and Arianna come through the door.

"Dada!" Ari yelled happily when she saw Sonny sitting on the couch. She immediately reached out for him and he scooped her up into his arms, hugging her close.

Ari looked at Sonny. "Okay?"

Sonny sighed. "Not really, baby girl."

Ari's response was to only hug Sonny tighter. To her, hugs and kisses always fix everything. Especially hugs and kisses from her to her daddies.

Adrienne smiled at the scene in front of her, but also felt a wave of sadness for her son. Victor has filled both her and Justin in on what had happened that day, and she nearly went over to beat Paul over the head. She couldn't believe he had the audacity to do something like this. Before, the only person she actually thought would do something like this was, ironically, Sami. She might have even accused Will of being capable of doing something like this. To her, this was going too far.

Hugging Ari close to him, tears came to Sonny's eyes. If Will couldn't forgive him, and refused to give their marriage a chance, he could lose Ari as well as Will. While Ari was not the only reason he wanted to be with Will, she had become such a huge part of his life. He couldn't imagine waking up in the morning and not having her there with him. He loved the days when she ate her food next to him, or curled up on the couch with him, gazing up as if he was the greatest thing in the world to her. She looked that way at both him _and_ Will, and neither would want to give that up. But legally, Will was the only one who was her parent.

Sonny knew deep down that Will would never keep Ari from him, but the fact was that if Will wouldn't come home, Ari may leave as well. In that moment, Sonny vowed he would do whatever it took to prove to Will how sorry he was, and how much he wanted, and needed, his family.

_The next morning…_

Will woke up the next day still in a bad mood. His anger and agitation had carried over, and nothing could make him feel better. The pain that come from the memories ran through him, and anger was the only thing Will could hold on to so that he didn't collapse in despair. He was angry over the fact that, while everyone else could come and go as they please, he was trapped because of his body's weakened state. He still couldn't walk, could barely stand up, couldn't move his left arm, and he felt exhausted all the time.

On top of that, his mental anguish over remembering that Sonny cheated on him fueled his anger. He could clearly remember the drunken tirade Sonny was on when he revealed that he cheated, and the article about Paul and Sonny, but still had no good memories of them over the past few months before the accident. He couldn't remember Sonny telling Will how he wasn't taking off his ring, them kissing, and them spending time at the club or pub together or even any good memories from when Will came back from L.A., like Christmas. The last good memory Will had was them making up after their fight about Will's article and Sonny getting Will a job behind his back.

Pain and anger fueled Will all morning, and he wasn't able to eat anything for breakfast or lunch. All he could hear in his head was Paul telling him how much he was in love with Sonny and how they were meant to be together, or Sonny spewing the words "consolation prize" at Will. He heard it all through his physical therapy, which caused him to push himself too far and his muscles to seize up, which worsened his mood. The therapist finally stopped therapy early when Will nearly fell and was close to re-injuring himself.

When Melanie brought him back to his room after therapy, he asked to just sit in the wheelchair for a while. He was tired of being in the bed all day, and being unable to move worsened his anxiety. At least in the wheelchair, he had a sense of being able to get around if he really wanted to. He could move his legs around and started getting some strength back in them. Since it had been almost a month since the accident, Dr. Thomas agreed to let Will take off the sling for a while after physical therapy, but he still couldn't use his arm. He needed to wear it most of the day, so Will savored this moment.

Looking out the window, Will tried to make sense of everything that had happened. He tried to make sense of how Sonny, his wonderful and adoring husband, could have so much hate for him. Since he had woken up from his accident, Sonny had been so attentive and patient with him, but was that because he felt guilty? Did he feel like it was his fault that Will was hit by the car? Will still had no memory of what had happened, and the only thing he could figure out was that he saw the article, and somehow that led to him getting hit by the car. Was that Sonny's fault?

He wished he could quiet the thoughts and questions in his head, but he couldn't. And to further that, all Will kept thinking about was what Sonny was doing. Was he with Paul? Were they waiting for him to get better before they were officially together? A thought then came to Will that shot a pain right to his heart. What about Ari? Did she know about Paul? Had she met him? His fists clenched at the thought of his daughter anywhere near that man. Pain shot through his left arm, but he barely noticed it. He was completely focused on his anger towards Sonny and Paul.

How could Sonny do this to them? How could he make Will believe in happily ever after and then go and break the one vow he knew would hurt Will the most? Will knew it was a mistake to get married, that everything bad would happen then, but everyone made him believe that he and Sonny were different. That Sonny loved him and that they wouldn't make the same mistakes their families had. But they were wrong. Will took a deep breath in to try and stop the tears that were threatening to break through. He told himself he couldn't break down. He needed to figure out what his next step was and how much longer he needed to stay in the hospital. He needed to figure out how to put his life back together again.

_Meanwhile…_

Sonny woke up the next morning extremely anxious and on edge. After everything that had happened the day before, he had no idea what to do. He knew he needed to talk to Will again, to try and fix what had happened, but he had no idea how to do that, especially since Will made it clear he did not want to see Sonny. The pain was too raw for Will. But no matter what he did, Sonny refused to let Will push him away and out of his life. He deserved the anger, but he would fight with everything he had to win back his husband.

He had no appetite for breakfast that morning, as his nerves were frayed, but he couldn't ignore Ari's needs. He had sat and played with her for most of the evening the night before, ignoring his mom's attempts to talk to him about what happened. She knew what Paul had done to Will, but he couldn't talk about the fact that Will refused to talk to him. Playing with Ari made him forget that pain.

When he and Ari arrived in the kitchen, however, it was obvious his attempts to avoid his mom were over. She had prepared a small breakfast for both him and Ari, and the look on her face told him that she wanted answers.

After getting Ari set up in her highchair and putting fruit and some cereal in front of her, Adrienne sat on one side of her, while Sonny sat on the other, not even touching any of the food for him.

"Sonny, talk to me."

Sonny sighed. "I don't know what to say."

"Start with what happened yesterday. Victor said that Paul went to see Will."

Sonny nodded. "He decided that he had waited long enough for me. He didn't know that Will had no memory of what had happened between us, and he claims that he only wanted to help Will 'understand' what was going on between us. Didn't matter that I had told Paul nothing would ever happen between us again, that I never wanted to see him again. God, Mom, he forced Will to remember and showed him the article of me and him. And because of that, Will nearly had a heart attack. He had a panic attack so bad they had to sedate him and the doctor said his heart cannot take any stress. He almost stopped breathing."

Adrienne gasped. She knew it was bad, but for Will to nearly have a _heart attack_?

Sonny continued. "I got there when they were taking Will to have tests run. When they told me what happened, I lost it. I attacked Paul, threatened him and had him thrown out of the hospital. I called Uncle Vic and told him I wanted a restraining order to keep Paul away from Will, Ari and myself. Especially Will. I can just avoid Paul, and Ari is kept safe here, but Will is vulnerable in the hospital."

Adrienne nodded. "I think that is the right thing to do. Paul is obviously disregarding any wishes people have about him staying away, and if it takes a court order, so be it."

"That is what I thought. I never thought it would come to this, but I'm actually scared for Will. If Paul came back again, he could cause Will to get so worked up that Will could die. I can't let that happen."

Adrienne immediately got up and moved to sit next to Sonny. "That is not going to happen, sweetie. You are doing everything you can to protect him."

Sonny sniffled. "I just hope he will let me."

"What do you mean?"

Sonny took in a deep breath and sighed. "I stayed the rest of the day in the hospital, waiting for Will to wake up. It feels like every time something major happens, I am not there. So I was determined to not let that happen again. But when Will finally woke up, he confronted me with what he remembered. I had to admit all over again that I cheated on him and broke his heart. But this time, instead of seeing the devastation I saw the first time, all I saw was anger. He was so angry at me, Mom, and nothing I said made it better. God, he even accused me of only wanting to be with him now because I felt guilty he almost died."

Sonny sniffled and looked down, beginning to cry again. "He got worked up again, and Maxine had to come in and try to calm him down. He threw me out and told me to never come back. He doesn't want to see me ever again."

Adrienne wrapped her arms around her son. "Oh baby, I don't believe that. Will loves you!"

"You didn't see him, Mom! You didn't see the anger and venom on his face. He was so angry and torn up about what had happened, and he just started screaming at me to get out of the room. If I can't get him to talk to me, how can I make any of this better?"

"You have to keep trying, Sonny. Will has been through a lot these past few weeks. I'm sure dealing with his physical limitations has increased his frustrations, and then being forced to remember what happened from _Paul_ of all people I'm sure didn't help. He found out about what happened all over again, so he is angry. But I think underneath that anger is the hurt and devastation from before. The anger is a mask."

Sonny sighed and wiped his eyes, looking at his mom. "So what do I do?"

"You get this restraining order taken care of, and then, you fight for Will. Remind him of why the two of you fell in love, and let him know you are not going anywhere. Give him time and space, but not too much. Maybe your counselor can agree to see Will and can help you start the process."

"What if he refuses to listen?"

"You don't give up. You, Sonny Kiriakis, have never given up on Will Horton. It used to drive me crazy. But you have always known that Will is the one for you. Don't give up now."

"She is right, Sonny."

Both Sonny and Adrienne looked up to see Justin and Victor standing in the dining room. Justin walked over and handed Sonny several documents.

"These are the 30 day restraining orders barring Paul from coming within 100 years, or 300 feet, of you, Will and Arianna. He cannot see him in the hospital, he cannot come here, and he cannot come near the club. If he is seen near any of you, he will be arrested on the spot."

Sonny stares at the papers in amazement. He can't believe his father and Uncle Vic actually were able to get the papers that would force Paul to stay away.

"You actually got the court to issue them?"

Victor jumped in at this. "Like I said, Sonny, we have friends in high places. A judge I know heard the case, and agreed to give us a 30 day order for the moment. In light of what happened, the judge agreed to do this as soon as possible as we were able to show Will's life was in danger and there is a little girl to consider."

Justin continued. "The only thing left to do is serve them. They don't actually go into effect until Paul has them in his hands. We have an officer here who can go with us to serve the papers to Paul."

Sonny nods, then jumps up and hugs his father, quietly murmuring, "Thank you." Justin just nods and hugs his son back. It feels so good to be able to help his son in this way, to ensure that his small family can no longer be in danger from someone who simply cannot move on.

Pulling back, Justin nods over to Victor. "Victor and I are going to go with the officer to make sure Paul receives the restraining order. You stay here with your mom and Ari."

Sonny wanted to protest, but realized this was probably the best thing. It would show he was serious about the order, and that his family came first. He couldn't be near Paul anyway at the moment. He hugged his dad and uncle, thanking them both again. Before they left, Victor turned back to Sonny and handed him a manila folder.

"This is the contract verifying that Titan Industries owns both _Sonix_ and _TruVista_, both under the name of _Sonix_, since their readership was larger than _TruVista_. We are still rearranging the management and staff from both to make sure we have the right people working together. Let Will know there is a position that will be held for him for as long as he wants."

Sonny nods gratefully, unable to say anything else. He feels so much gratitude and love for his family, knowing how much they have done to help him and Will during this time. Even though he is still unsure where he and Will stand, he feels like this is a good sign that things could turn out okay.

30 minutes later, Justin, Victor and the court officer arrive at Paul's hotel room at the Salem Inn. While Justin was not positive that Paul was here, he wasn't sure of any other place that Paul would be. The court officer knocked on the door, and both Justin and Victor were relieved when a man answered.

"Paul Narita?" the office asked.

Paul hesitantly answered, "yes?"

The court officer presented Paul with the restraining orders. "I am here to serve you with a restraining order. You are not to come within 100 years, or 300 feet, of Mr. Jackson Kiriakis, Mr. William Horton, and Ms. Arianna Grace Horton. You are to appear in court in 30 days regarding this order, but until then, listed on these documents are the premises to stay away from. If you wish to contest this, you may do so in 30 days. Until then, if you are to have any contact with Mr. Kiriakis, Mr. Horton, or their daughter, you will be arrested."

Paul stands in shock, looking down at the papers in utter disbelief. Sonny got a restraining order on him?! That didn't make sense. And who was Arianna Grace Horton? Then the officer's words hit him. _Their daughter_. Sonny was raising the little girl with Will. He had a family with Will. She was the little girl he saw that afternoon with Will and Sonny.

"I..I don't understand."

Victor decides to speak up. "Let me simplify it for you. If you come anywhere near Sonny, Will or their little girl, or try to have any form of contact with them, your ass will be thrown in jail."

Justin smirked at Victor's speech. He decided to speak up and be a little more professional. "You have been served, and as such, these documents are in effect as of now. You are not to come within 100 yards or 300 feet of these three, and in 30 days the courts will decide whether or not to extend this. Have a good day, Mr. Narita."

With that, the three men turned and walked away; satisfied their job was done, leaving Paul standing in the doorway of his hotel in a daze. He couldn't believe that Sonny had gotten a restraining order on him. What was worse, this really drove it home to him that he had no chance of winning Sonny back. Sonny had a family with Will, and wouldn't leave them. Paul had truly lost Sonny, and now, he wasn't sure what to do. He had nothing.


	38. Chapter 38

_Author's Note- Major angst warning! You will definitely see the "Sami Brady" side of Will come out. But like I said, I believe this is important to the story. Please review!_

Sonny hesitantly walked into the hospital. He hated that he was so nervous to see Will, but after their confrontation, he wasn't so sure how welcome he was anymore with Will. He had hoped that Will was calmer now and willing to listen to him, but he wasn't that confident. He didn't bring Ari with him because he didn't know how Will was going to react with him being there, and hoped that Will would be calm enough that his mom or someone could bring her later.

As he exited the elevator on Will's floor, he immediately heard his name being called. He looked over and saw Dr. Thomas standing with Maxine, looking concerned.

"Is everything okay?" he asked as he approached them.

Dr. Thomas sighed. "I am concerned about Will. Ever since the incident yesterday, he has been overly agitated and frustrated. He pushed himself too hard in physical therapy today."

Sonny began to worry. "Is he okay?"

"Yes, the therapist stopped him before he re-injured himself, but the point is that he wasn't listening at all to the therapist or the nurses. Maxine has told me he even refused to eat breakfast or lunch."

Sonny swallowed hard and bit his lip. He knew Will was still angry, and because of that, it was affecting his whole body.

Dr. Thomas continued. "He is still on track to be released early next week, and can go home if he stays in contact with a physical therapist and comes in for routine check-ups, so I am hoping that will help his frustrations. But he needs to understand that he cannot keep pushing himself like he did today."

Sonny nodded and sighed. "I can talk to him. He is angry with me over what he remembered, and about his visitor yesterday. I have taken steps to ensure that guy cannot come near Will again."

He pulled out a copy of the restraining order for Maxine and Dr. Thomas to see. "I got a restraining order against that guy. He cannot come within 100 years of Will, myself or Ari. So if he does show up back at the hospital again near Will, he should be arrested."

Both Dr. Thomas and Maxine looked shocked, but recovered quickly. Maxine took the documents to make a copy for their files. While they waited for her to come back, Dr. Thomas turned back to Sonny.

"I know originally you were hoping for Will to come home with you. Is that still the plan? He has made tremendous progress, but he still needs help with everyday things. Showering, getting around, doing his exercises, and things you and I take for granted. If that is not possible, there are a couple of rehab facilities he can go to, and they will help him continue to recover."

Sonny shook his head. "There will be plenty of help at home. At least, I am hoping that is still the plan. I want to bring him home with me."

"Okay good. I hope that whatever problem you are having, you are able to work it out."

At that comment, Maxine returned with the restraining order papers. The doctor and Maxine then left Sonny and Sonny continued on his way to see Will. He felt guilty over the fact that because Will was upset, he wasn't taking care of himself properly. It was obvious he had a long way to go in regards to fixing his relationship, but there was no way he was backing down. His mom was right; when it comes to Will Horton, he could never walk away.

Walking into Will's room, he saw Will sitting in his wheelchair staring out the window. Sonny could tell Will was still tense. He knocked, startling Will.

"Hey." The simple greeting sounded off to Sonny, but he had no idea what else to say.

Will simply glared at him and looked away. "What are you doing here?"

Sonny sighed. "I wanted to see you."

Will scoffed. "Well, I don't want to see you. I told you yesterday to not come back here again."

"I can't do that Will."

"Why not? It doesn't seem that hard to me. You are not the one that has to be here."

"Yes I do have to be here. You are here. I love you Will. I am so sorry for what happened, but I swear it was a horrible mistake. And I am so sorry for Paul coming in here. I am making sure that he never bothers you again."

Before Will could make any comment, Sonny handed him the restraining order papers.

"These documents say that Paul cannot come within 100 yards, or 300 feet, of you, me and Ari. After what Paul did to you yesterday, I do want to take any further chances. I should have done this sooner, but at least now you can continue to recover in peace. And you don't have to worry about Ari being in danger from him."

Will didn't say anything. He stared at the documents for a while, unsure of how he felt about them. He was actually surprised by these. Was this a joke, or something that was fake to make him feel better? On the one hand, he was glad that Paul would not be allowed around Ari, but at the same point, this really didn't change anything.

Sonny studied Will's face to see his reaction, but couldn't read Will. Was he upset that Sonny got this?

"Will?"

Will sighed. "I'm glad you are making sure Ari is safe." It sounded lame, but was the only thing he could think of to say.

"Of course I would. I love her, just as much as I love you. I would do anything to protect you both."

That statement would normally bring a smile to Will's face, but now it only served to make him hurt more. He could feel the pain building in him, and he tried to make it so he didn't fall apart. He wanted to stay angry. If he was angry, it would push him to work harder, and he could make sure this never happened again. He would never let himself be vulnerable to someone else again.

He decided to change the topic. "How is Ari?"

Sonny bit his lip to stop himself from commenting on the change in topic. "She is good, as always. She misses you."

"Why didn't you bring her by?"

Sonny sighed. "I didn't know how you would react, and I wanted to talk to you before she came."

Sonny didn't mean anything by it, but the statement angered Will.

"Excuse me? What, you wanted to make sure I behaved and didn't cause a scene, otherwise I don't get to see my daughter?!"

Sonny's eyes widened. What was Will talking about? "What? Why would you say that?"

"She is MY daughter, I have every right to see her."

"Of course you do. Why are you acting like I'm telling you that you can't see her?"

"Then why didn't you bring her over? Or better yet, have someone else bring her over. I told you I don't want you here."

"Will, please don't be like this. We need to talk about this."

Will wished he could stand up, or move, but he feels trapped in his own body, and that is causing his agitation to rise further.

"Talk? You want to talk? Talk about what? About how you made me believe that everything was going to be okay, when in actuality it wasn't ever going to be okay! You cheated on me! You called me a consolation prize!"

Will could feel the tears threatening to come out, and he forces himself to take a deep breath in.

Sonny notices it, however. "Let it out, Will."

Will seethes. "Why? So you can see how broken I really am? No, you don't deserve that."

Sonny begins to cry. "I am so sorry Will, for everything that happened. It was a horrible mistake, one that I regret every day since it happened. And I am so sorry for what Paul did yesterday."

"Why? Because your charade is finally up?"

"Charade?"

"Yeah. You can play the doting husband, show everyone how great you are, and in the meantime, do whatever you want. You can have your cake and eat it too."

Sonny is completely shocked by this. "You think I was still seeing Paul while you were here in the hospital? Please tell me you don't actually believe that."

Will shrugged. "What should I believe?"

"That I love you! That I am so sorry for what happened, and that I want to be with you, not him!" He points to the restraining order papers. "This should show you that I never want to see him again!"

Sonny then falls to his knees in front of Will. "I swear to you, this was a mistake and it will never happen again. You have to believe me when I say that I love YOU, only you, and I only want to be with you."

Both men trembled, and Sonny reached out to try and hold Will's hand. But as soon as their hands touched, Will jerked away. "Stop."

But Sonny held on to the wheelchair. "No, I am not going to stop. I am never going to stop loving you or trying to show you how sorry I am. Maybe you don't believe me now, but when you come home with me, you will see."

Will snapped back at that. "Who said I was going home with you?"

Sonny stands up, looking confused. "Dr. Thomas said that you were on track to be discharged next week."

"Yeah, that doesn't mean I would go home with you. I will get a place, and enough room for me and Ari. Or I will stay with someone else."

Sonny is thrown by this. But then again he isn't completely surprised. He knew Will was angry and would probably fight him on this. But he needs to get Will to understand that this is the best solution.

"Will, I know you are angry with me right now. And you have every right to be. But you have to think of the best possible situation for you, and for Ari. You can't take care of Ari by yourself, and you will still need help during the day. Ari and I have been staying at the mansion, and there are plenty of people around to help whenever we need it."

Will looked away from Sonny, not wanting to admit that Sonny was right. He couldn't take care of Ari by himself, and he still needed help. That angered him more than anything, and made him want to cry even more. He felt weak, and he knew that people could use that against him. He needed to be strong.

Sonny could visibly see Will hardening himself and closing up against him. He sighs, deciding to take a step back, seeing that getting into this confrontation now won't help Will any. He wishes he knew the way to get Will to open up, but Will seems determined to close himself off.

Deciding to leave for the moment, he says, "I will see if someone can bring Ari by later. I will be by tomorrow to see how you are doing."

Will sneers. "To make sure I am behaving like a good boy?"

"Dammit Will, stop acting like I am Nick or someone using Ari as a hostage or bargaining chip! I am your husband, and her father. I am not going to keep Ari away from you to get what I want, okay? Stop acting like this!"

"Acting like what? Tell me, Sonny, how should I act? Should I be grateful, should I act quiet and meek, hoping to get any scrap of affection?"

"Will, please. I am trying here."

"Trying? What, you have _try_ so hard to be my husband? Why? Is it that hard to be married to me? Fine, you want out, go ahead, I won't fight you on it. We never should have gotten married in the first place."

Sonny is stunned, and hurt, by this. "Don't say that. Don't you_ ever_ say that again. I love you, I want to be your husband."

Will scoffs. "You have a funny way of showing it."

"Dammit Will, I get that you only remember parts of what happened these past few months, but it hasn't been easy for me okay! You went to L.A., and it just felt like no matter what I did, I couldn't make you happy. So I made a mistake. A horrible one. One I will regret for the rest of my life. But there were a lot of things that led up to that day. I wasn't the only one who wasn't working at our marriage."

Will is silent for a moment, and Sonny begins to walk out again, when Will calls out. "Let me ask you something, Sonny." Sonny turns back to Will, but doesn't say anything. "When I did all these horrible things, when I left you for L.A., when you couldn't make me happy, did at any point I tell you that you were a _consolation prize_ to me? Did I ever say that I regretted ever meeting you or that I wished I had stayed with my ex, and that even though he would never come out to the world and go public with our relationship, my ex could give me the world?"

Sonny pales at this, and his stomach twists. Will continues. "I didn't think so. Because despite whatever 'horrible' things I have done, I never took every insecurity you have ever had, ones I know you deal with every day, and threw them back in your face. I never deliberately bring up every past lie you told or secret you have ever kept from me whenever we fight. I don't keep lists of things that you have done to piss me off. I don't make you feel 2 inches small, and like you don't deserve to breathe the same air as me. I may be difficult, and a horrible husband, but let's get one thing clear. I did not break our marriage. I'm not the one who destroyed us. That is you."

With that, and using what is left of his energy, Will turned his wheelchair away from Sonny and looked away. Tears fell down Sonny's face and he shakily stumbled out of the room, down the hall, and into the stairway. He quickly leaves the hospital, and throws up on the side of the building. Someone stops and asks if he is okay, but he doesn't hear them, just moves on and gets into his car. It is only when he sits that everything begins to sink in. He just cries.


End file.
